Adrian Thorne played for Exeter City between 1963 and 1965. He joined the club from Plymouth Argyle and later played for Leyton Orient. He was a member of the team that won promotion in 1963/64 and also played for Brighton.

Adrian began his career with Brighton Grammarians in the Sussex County League and, signed by Brighton and Hove Albion as a junior, eventually became a professional with the Sussex club in August 1954 as he went on to score 38 goals in 76 league matches (including five goals against Watford in only his fifth first-team game). Subsequently moving to Plymouth Argyle in June 1961 for a fee of £8,000, he appeared in 11 league matches (two goals) before signing for Exeter City in December 1963 for a fee of £1,500.

Making his debut for the Grecians in a 4-1 home win over Bradford City on 14 December 1963, Adrian was an ever-present for the rest of the season as City finished fourth and won promotion. Wearing the number seven, nine or eleven shirt, he totalled 24 league appearances whilst weighing in with six goals against his old club Brighton, Rochdale (two), Oxford and Chesterfield (two). 

Not playing in any of the first twenty-one games of 1964/65, Adrian then featured in seventeen of the remaining twenty-five games scoring a couple of times at Christmas before leaving St James’ Park in the summer of 1965 to sign for Leyton Orient. Spending a single season with his new club, he later gained a degree in exercise physiology whilst playing non-league football with both Barnet and Cheltenham Town and subsequently becoming head of department at a school in Maida Vale, London.