A centre forward, Francis began his career as a schoolboy with a team fielded by the Odeon cinema in his hometown of Acton. He regularly played against Jim Towers of the localGaumont cinema team and the pair would later link up as professionals at Brentford. Francis later represented the Acton, Brentford & Chiswick schools' team.
Brentford
Francis signed for the junior team at Second Division club Brentford in 1949, after rejecting an offer from Blackburn Rovers. He progressed to the youth team and signed his first professional contract in January 1953, but had to wait until 1955 to make his first team debut, which came in a Third Division South match versus Walsall on 19 February. Francis had a dream start, scoring a late equaliser in a 2–2 draw. He made two further appearances in what remained of the 1954–55 season and scored another goal. Francis made a minor breakthrough into the first team during the 1955–56 season, making 18 appearances, scoring eight goals and beginning a strike partnership with friend Jim Towers. He made his full breakthrough in the 1956–57 season and scored 24 goals in 44 appearances. Francis' best season came in 1959–60, when he was an ever-present and scored 31 goals in 48 appearances. A memorable moment in his season was scoring a hat-trick in a 4–2 victory at Loftus Road, home of West London rivalsQueens Park Rangers. At the end of a lean 1960–61 season, the abolition of the maximum wage rule saw Francis and Towers depart the Bees. Francis scored 121 goals in 243 appearances over the course of six years in the first team at Griffin Park.
Francis and Towers joined Third Division club Queens Park Rangers in an £8,000 deal in May 1961. Francis failed to last long at Loftus Road and scored three goals in as many appearances before departing in October 1961.
Return to Brentford
Francis returned to Brentford in October 1961 and immediately won his place back in the team, though his 14 league goals couldn't prevent the Bees from suffering relegation to Fourth Division. He departed the club at the end of the season, having made 37 appearances and scored 15 goals during his brief return. Across his two spells with Brentford, Francis made 280 appearances and scored 136 goals. He was inducted into the Brentford Hall of Fame in March 2014.
Francis signed for Fourth Division club Gillingham in August 1962 for a £4,000 fee. He scored 12 goals in 35 league games during the 1962–63 season, but the Gills missed out on promotion with a fifth-place finish. Five months into the season, Francis was joined by his old friend Jim Towers at the club. Though he made only 16 appearances, Francis scored seven goals during the 1963–64 season and scored the winner versus Newport County on the final day, which saw Gillingham clinch the Fourth Division championship. He departed the club at the end of the campaign, having scored 21 goals in 58 games for the Gills.
