Born and raised in South Africa, as a teenager Wallace featured against the Aberdeen side managed by Paddy Travers that was touring the country in 1937. A year later, Travers became Clyde boss and soon brought the teenager over to play for his new club. The move was successful: Wallace opened the scoring in the 1939 Scottish Cup Final, a 4–0 win over Motherwell which secured the trophy for the first time in Clyde history. He is also one of a small group of players to have scored four goals in a match for the Bully Wee. World War II then intervened, with Wallace playing for Clyde in unofficial competitions throughout its duration. In May 1943, he turned out for Hibernian in the Rosebery Charity Cup; in what seems to be his only appearance for the Edinburgh side, he scored Hibs' goal but the trophy was won by rivals Hearts on the toss of a coin. After the conflict ended, in 1946 Wallace moved to Dunfermline Athletic, then in late 1947 signed for Albion Rovers, helping the Coatbridge club gain promotion to the top tier. The subsequent 1948–49 Scottish Division One campaign ended in relegation with only eight points collected, but remains a significant point in Rovers' history as the last time they played among the nation's elite. In one of his final appearances, Wallace scored the consolation goal in a 4–1 defeat to Rangers which meant that the Gers won the championship after title rivals Dundee unexpectedly lost. In 1949, Wallace accepted an offer from Llanelly, a lower-league club from Wales with ambitions to become full members of the Football League. Joining as a player-coach under Jack Goldsborough, Wallace played a large part in persuading former Albion Rovers teammate Jock Stein to join the club. However, having been promoted to the Southern League, Llanelly were unsuccessful in their Football League applications and their fortunes declined as investment and interest in the project waned. Wallace also served a period as Llanelly manager.
International
Despite his birthplace, Wallace made three appearances for Scotland in unofficial wartime fixtures, scoring a brace in a 3–2 win over England in February 1941; however the other two caps were in defeats to the same opposition. In the last of these, a 4–0 loss at Hampden Park, Wallace reacted to rough treatment from England captainStan Cullis by grabbing the defender by the groin. The referee took no action at the time, but the SFA decided afterwards that Wallace would not be considered for internationals again. He had also been selected by the Scottish Football League XI in 1941 and was among the scorers again, albeit in a 3–2 defeat by The Football League XI.
