Easdale joined Liverpool on 26 February 1937, shortly after his eighteenth birthday, having been recruited through the club’s Scottish scout, Willie Sloan. Born in Dumbarton, he was often called Jack in contemporary newspaper reports. His early opportunities came outside the first team, and the interruption of League football by the Second World War meant that almost ten years passed before he made his First Division debut. There were encouraging signs of his potential before the war. Easdale attracted particular praise when Liverpool recovered from two goals down to beat Everton 3–2 in the Liverpool Senior Cup semi-final at Anfield on 17 April 1939. The Liverpool Daily Post described how the young centre-half gained control of Everton’s inside forwards and suggested that his performance merited an opportunity in the first team. The Evening Express also highlighted his progress, identifying Easdale and Everton’s Maurice Lindley as two promising young half-backs.
That anticipated breakthrough never developed into a regular place. Easdale played wartime football for Liverpool and also appeared as a guest for Brighton & Hove Albion. By the time the First Division resumed in 1946, he was twenty-seven and competing for a position occupied by Laurie Hughes. His league debut finally came on Christmas Day 1946, when he deputised for Hughes in a 2–1 defeat at Stoke City. His only other league appearance followed on 22 March 1947, in a 1–1 draw against Derby County at Anfield. Those two outings nevertheless made him a contributing member of Liverpool’s championship-winning squad.
Easdale remained at Liverpool into the following season without adding to his league appearances, before moving to Stockport County in 1948. He played six league games for County during 1948/49, leaving him with only eight Football League appearances despite spending more than a decade on Liverpool’s books. He died in Ontario, Canada, on 4 May 1999, aged eighty.
