Edward Thornton from Michagan, USA, was recommended by James "Daisy" Bell to Exeter City.
There was a great deal of interest on Wednesday 9th April 1924, when Edward Thornton made his debut as an inside-right against Bristol Rovers Reserves.
A "good crowd" turned up to watch the game which kicked off at 5:15 on the Wednesday evening.

Edward has a share in both the goals scored by the Grecians. He made the telling pass for Murray to score the first and scored the second on his debut, shortly after half-time. 
Thornton had made a very favourable impression, his anticipation and ball control being very good, and he used the ball to advantage always, giving Harold Blackmore and others in the forward line some good openings. City won 2-0 

He scored with a header in his next game for the reserves against Torquay United on the 21st April, in front of 2500 fans. The result was City 1-1 Torquay United. He played again for the Reserves against an East Devon League X1 at SJP on May 3rd. City won 7-1