Having failed to make a First Division appearance for his home-town City, Charlie Petrie had three seasons at Stalybridge Celtic, during which they became founder-members of the Third North. That was the start of a six-season spell in the Football League, during which he played over 100 games going up and down the divisions, stopping off at Second Division Sheffield Wednesday and Third South Swindon, before springing back to Division II, for a further couple of seasons and another 24 games, with Southampton.

Those 24 appearances, all at inside-forward, included a couple of comparatively sustained spells, the first of which, in March/April 1928, was a good run for the side that ended in his scoring the winner that helped to ease the Saints two points clear of the drop. But his longest run of eight games ended with his final first-team appearance, six months later. He moved, come the summer, to York City, newly-elected to the Third North, but failed to feature in the first team. He duly retired to his native Manchester, where he became the trainer at Gorton Celtic.