Hector Lawson’s football career really took off in August 1916 when he joined Glasgow Rangers as a 20-year-old left-winger from the nearby Shettleston junior club. Most of his near-eight years at Ibrox were spent in the shadow of the ‘Wee Blue Devil’, the peerless Scottish international Alan Morton, though, and he had loan spells with Vale of Leven (April 1920), Third Lanark (October 1921) and Clyde (March 1923) before the reigning Football League champions Liverpool were tempted to pay £1,000 for his services in January 1924.
Hector maintained a regular place during the remainder of the 1923-24 campaign, but the following term he largely missed out and returned to Scotland with Airdrieonians for a £500 fee in August 1925. A year later he moved on to Aberdeen where he appeared in 24 Scottish League games over a two- season period and was converted into a left-half.
On arriving at the Goldstone in August 1928, the much-travelled Scot was reaching the veteran stage. He had a three-match run at left-half as stand-in for Wally Little and four games at inside-left when Jimmy Hopkins was indisposed, but never looked likely to displace either for any length of time. Released in May 1929, Hector was recruited by Newport County.