Scoring thirty times in 85 league games, and invariably playing second-fiddle to Alan Banks, Joe Gadston played for Exeter City between 1969 and 1972. He joined the Grecians from Bristol Rovers and later played for Aldershot. A director of Exeter City between 1999 and 2002, Joe is credited with introducing eventual director of football Steve Perryman to the club.  

On the books at West Ham United as an amateur, Joe gained his first professional contract at Brentford in August 1964. However, he never made the first team at Griffin Park and then joined Southern League Corby Town where he scored 6 goals in 12 matches.

Cheltenham Town then signed Joe for the princely sum of £22 and ten shillings. During his stay at Cheltenham, he netted around 40 goals for the club before returning to the Football League with Bristol Rovers in May 1968 in a £1,500 transfer.

Making 11 league appearances (scoring five goals) during his time at Eastville, Joe arrived at St James' Park in November 1969 for a reported fee of £1,000 having turned down a move to Nuneaton Borough. Appearing first against his former club Brentford on 8 November 1969, Joe went on to score 9 goals in 26 appearances in his first season before forming a successful striking partnership with Alan Banks in 1970/71 when Joe scored 18 league goals and Alan netted 21 times.

With the 1971/72 campaign proving less-productive for Joe - just three league goals from 20 starts - he spent a month on loan with Poole Town in January 1972 ahead of his release on a free transfer. Joining Aldershot in July 1972, he played just four league games, and after a short spell on loan with Hartlepool, dropped into non-league football with Wimbledon

Joe then worked as a youth coach at Brentford, when Steve Perryman was manager, before moving to Dorset where he ran a holiday apartment business and managed Swanage Town & Herston. Becoming a director of Exeter City in 1999 Joe was instrumental in asking Perryman (a one-time player with Tottenham and England and former manager of both Brentford and Watford) - who was living locally - to help the club as an adviser in a capacity that later developed into the role of director of football.