His exploits at club and international level did much to raise Leicester Fosse’s standing in the game. Derby-born Horace was a rating official with the Midland Railway. Before signing as an amateur for the Fosse in January 1907, he had played for Derby County, Crich, Ripley Athletic and Leicester Imperial.
His Filbert Street debut was against Wolverhampton Wanderers in September 1907. It was to be a season of great success for him at both club and international level. At the end of the campaign, Leicester Fosse were runners-up to Bradford City and secured their first-ever season in the top flight.
Horace also won five full England caps between March and June 1908; four of them during a summer tour of the Hapsburg Empire, in games against Austria, Hungary and Bohemia. This was the first time that England had played any team other than Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
Horace’s good form for Leicester Fosse resulted in his selection for the Great Britain football team chosen to compete at the London White City Olympics, which opened in July 1908.
When the Olympic football tournament began in October 1908, it was the first-ever world football championship. Within the space of a week, Horace’s Great Britain side defeated Sweden 12-1 and the Netherlands 4-0 before beating Denmark 2-0 at the White City Stadium, watched by a crowd of 8,000.
Returning to Filbert Street, Horace’s goalkeeping prowess couldn’t prevent Leicester Fosse being relegated after just one season in the top division. He had the misfortune to concede 12 goals in a match against Nottingham Forest when his team-mates were suffering from a collective hangover following a wedding celebration for a former team-mate. Had it not been for Horace’s prowess in goal, the defeat would have been even heavier.
Horace left Filbert Street in March 1910. Following spells at Northern Nomads, Derby County, Blackburn Rovers, Stoke and Birmingham City, he was selected for the 1912 Great Britain squad as reserve to the future Leicester Fosse goalkeeper Ronald Brebner, who tragically died from a football injury a few months after arriving at Filbert Street.