McKie was born in
Dalry, a small town in
Ayrshire, Scotland and had served in the 15th Company
Royal Artillery. He had been a member of the
Freemantle football team before being signed by
Southampton St. Mary's in the summer of 1896. He made his debut for the "Saints" at
the County Ground in the opening match of
the 1896–97 season, a 4–1 victory over
Chatham. He played at
left-back with his fellow Scotsmen
Donald McKay at
right-back and
William McMillan at
right-half. McKay retained his place for a further two games, before being replaced by
Samuel Meston, who had moved back to accommodate
Willie Naughton on the
right wing. McKie had a further run of three matches, when he took over from McKay in December and January. Described as "
tough and rugged", McKie also played in six of the seven
FA Cup matches in which the "Saints" reached the
Second round proper for the first time, going out to
Newton Heath after a replay. The Saints won the first nine games of the season and finished unbeaten in the league after twenty matches, thus claiming the
Southern League title for the first time. In the summer of 1897, McKie moved to
Kent with spells for fellow Southern League teams
Chatham and
Dartford. ==Honours==