McCrory was born in
Belfast. After turning professional with
Irish League side
Linfield in 1944, for whom he scored in two consecutive
Irish Cup final victories: against
rivals Glentoran in 1945 (scoring two) and
Distillery in 1946. After scoring 60 goals in 91 games for Linfield he moved to
Swansea Town in October 1946. He was relegated in his first season with the club before helping them win the
Football League Third Division South in 1949. He also played in the
Welsh Cup final in 1949, in which the Swans were defeated 2-0 by
Merthyr Tydfil. He moved to
Ipswich Town in March 1950 but did not get off to a great start to his career with the Tractor Boys; he became the first Ipswich player to be sent off in league football in a match against
Aldershot in April 1950. However the
following season he was their top goalscorer in all competitions, and in total made over 100 appearances for the club. He then had a spell with
Plymouth Argyle but struggled for form in the
Second Division, before moving to
Southend United in 1955. He scored the first goal at United's new stadium,
Roots Hall, on 20 August 1955 against
Norwich City. He was also the joint top scorer of the last edition of the
Third Division South with 31 goals in the
1957–58 season. After leaving Southend in 1960 he joined
Southern League side
Cambridge United, where he spent two years before returning home for a one-year spell as player-manager of
Irish League side
Crusaders. After retiring, he settled in
Donaghadee where he ran a pub, The Port O Call. McCrory died in 2011 at the age of 86. ==International career==