Alec Brady made his League and Club debut on 8 September 1888, playing as a winger, at Deepdale, the home of Preston North End. Preston North End won the match 5–2. When Alec Brady played as a winger against Preston North End on 8 September 1888 he was 18 years 211 days old; which made him, on that first weekend of League football, Burnley’ youngest player, until 22 September 1888 when Robert Duckworth made his debut. Alec Brady scored his debut League goal on 22 September 1888 at Dudley Road, the then home of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Wolverhampton Wanderers won the match 4–1 and Alec Brady scored Burnley' only goal. Alec Brady appeared in 20 of the 22 League games played by Burnley in season 1888–89 and scored seven League goals. As a winger he played in a Burnley midfield that achieved big wins on two separate occasions. Seven goals in a League season made Alec Brady joint Burnley top scorer with Willie McKay.
1889 onwards
In August 1889 Brady had been convinced to join Everton by their captain Andrew Hannah, also from Alec's hometown of Renton. However a dispute with his player registration meant he was given a two-month suspension. After scoring twice on his debut against Stoke and a hat-trick in the 11-2 against Derby in the FA Cup, Everton's record victory they narrowly missed out on winning the league trophy to Preston North End. In his second season with Everton they were crowned English League Champions. In the Summer of 1891 he was lured back to Scotland to play for Celtic in the 2nd Scottish Football League Championship. Despite narrowly missing out on the league title to Dumbarton, Celtic went on to win the Scottish Cup, the club's first ever major trophy. Brady spent just one season at Celtic before moving to The Wednesday for seven seasons. He was a part of the Wednesday side that won the FA Cup in 1896, making Brady one of the first players to win both the Scottish and English trophies at a time when they were considered the pinnacle of football competitions. He returned to Scotland to play with Clydebank in 1899 before returning to his hometown team, Renton where he ended his playing career. After retiring from football he stayed in Renton, where he lived with his family until his death in 1913, aged 43. He was buried in Millburn Church, Renton which was marked with a memorial headstone in April 2016 by The Celtic Graves Society and Everton Heritage Society.
