Billy Lane started his career playing for London City Mission and also played for Gnome Athletic and Park Avondale being joining Tottenham Hotspur in 1922. However, Lane failed to get into the first team at White Hart Lane and moved to Athenian League club, Summerstown before joining Barnet.
Billy Lane arrived at Underhill at the beginning of the 1923/24 season in time for a pre-season friendly at home to Uxbridge Town playing alongside George Sparrow and he scored in a 5-2 win. The following Saturday, Lane made his Athenian League debut, scoring in a 3-1 home win over Summerstown.
The following Saturday, Lane scored four times as Barnet hammered Aspley 8-0 in the Extra Preliminary Round of the FA Cup at Underhill. Lane scored for the fourth successive game for the Bees in a 4-0 home win over Sutton United in the league.
After playing in the 3-0 win over Leavesden in the Preliminary Round of the FA Cup, Lane missed the next couple of games before returning to the side for the 1st qualifying round match in the FA Amateur Cup away at Edmonton. Lane scored twice as Barnet won 3-1.
The following week, Barnet drew 1-1 at home to Enfield in the 2nd qualifying round of the FA Cup before going down 4-2 at Enfield in the midweek replay, Lane scoring one of Barnet’s goals. It was his last appearance for Barnet.
In all, Lane played just eight matches for the club, scoring 10 goals, a pretty good return. Lane joined Northfleet United who were a nursery club for Spurs and he re-joined Spurs in 1924 going on to score 7 goals in 30 games for the North London club before joining Leicester City in 1926, who were, like Spurs, a 1st division club. Lane only played a handful of games for Leicester and for his next club, reading who played in the 2nd division.
In 1929, Lane moved to Brentford, who played in the Third Division South and he went on to make 112 appearances for the Bees scoring 82 goals with Brentford finishing 2nd in the 1929/30 season.
In 1932, Lane moved to Watford, also in the 3rd division south and made 124 appearances for the Hornets scoring 68 goals including grabbing a hat trick in 3 minutes against Clapton Orient in 1933.
Lane joined another Third Division South club, Bristol City in 1935, scoring 11 goals in 30 matches for the Robins before short spells at Clapton Orient and Gravesend & Northfleet.
Lane later went into management, firstly with Guildford City and then with Brighton & Hove Albion who he took to the Third Division South championship in 1958. He later managed Gravesend & Northfleet. He died in 1985, aged 81.