Adey was born in
Easington Lane,
Hetton-le-Hole,
County Durham, the eldest son of Thomas Adey, a
railway engine fireman, and his wife, Mary. He played local football for Hetton Celtic and representative football for
the Durham County side. Although a trial with
Sunderland came to nothing, in late 1921 he turned out for
Bristol City's
reserve team and, despite
the local paper's opinion that he and another trialist "may develop into useful players, but neither were sufficiently experienced for Southern League football", succeeded in earning himself a contract with the
Second Division club. He never appeared for the first team, and was back with Hetton by the end of the season. He spent the following season with
Bedlington United of the
North-Eastern League. By February 1923, the
Blyth News suggested that offers had been made for his services, and that there was "no doubt that Adey has few, if any, superiors in the position in the N.E.L." On Easter Monday, he was "outstanding" as Bedlington beat hot favourites
Blyth Spartans 5–0 to win the
Northumberland Senior Cup on their first appearance in the final. Having done his duty by his club on the field, he contributed off the field as well by signing for Second Division
Hull City for an "excellent" transfer fee. Adey began his Hull City career with the reserves in the
Midland League. The
Hull Daily Mail were pleased with his early performances, which reminded them in style of the club's former centre half,
Charlie Deacey, only with more pace. He made his
Football League debut in the opening match of the season, on 26 August 1923 at home to
Leicester City, and reportedly performed well in difficult circumstances after the loss of the experienced
left half Tommy Bleakley to injury. He was ever-present for the first three months of the season, but with Hull sitting 20th in the table, the manager made changes that included Bleakley's return in Adey's place. He did not play again for the first team that season, but his services were
retained for 1924–25 and he was a member of the touring party that visited Sweden in post-season. He made no first-team appearances in the new season, found time in November to marry a local girl, Kathleen Middleton, and was transfer-listed at a fee of £50. and in early August, he signed for
Swindon Town of the
Third Division South. Shortly afterwards, he received a telegram offering him terms from
Darlington, a club from his home area newly promoted to the Second Division as Northern Section champions; according to the Hull
Daily Mail, he "regard[ed] it as probably all for the best" that he had already found employment. Adey played regularly for Swindon, occupying the left-half position, and helped the team finish sixth in the table and reach the second round of the
1925–26 FA Cup. His last appearance was in a 2–1 defeat at home to
Northampton Town on 3 April 1926. Swindon offered him terms for another season, but he advertised for a move, and signed for Northampton Town to fill a vacancy at centre half. He only made 11 appearances in all competitionsmore often at left half, a position in which he "proved a great attacking force and a more stubborn defender than he had done in the centre"and was made available on a free transfer. He again advertised for a club, mentioning that he would accept work at Midland or North-Eastern League level, and then returned home to join
Durham City for what proved to be their last season in the Football League. He was mainly used at left half, but played at
inside left for a spell in mid-season during which he scored both goals in a 2–1 win against
Barrow and a "delightful" goal in a heavy defeat at home to
Rotherham United combined with a bad miss from close range and a general performance that showed the
Sheffield Sports Special that he was "not a success at the inside forward position, otherwise a different score would have been recorded". He finished the season with six goals from 32 league matches, which him the team's second highest scorer after
Tom Leedham with nine. He left at the end of the season after Durham finished 21st in the 22-team table and failed to be
re-elected to the League. He then spent several years in Midland League football, first as
player-coach of a young
Wombwell side; while primarily used at centre half, he again appeared as a forward, and scored "four brilliant goals" as Wombwell beat Rotherham United Reserves 7–0. He finished the 1928–29 season with
Newark Town, and remained with them until the end of the next, after which he spent time with
Mansfield Town before returning to Newark by February 1931. In September 1931, having found work in his native Hetton, Adey took up the post of player-coach of
Wearside League club Hetton United, and he also played for
Crook Town. He died in Hull in 1986 at the age of 84. ==Career statistics==