 He was initially signed as a reserve player, but made the transition to first team football, making 19 League appearances that season (out of 24), scoring five goals and helping Palace to win the Southern League second division title and promotion to division one.The next season, Wallace missed only one of 38 games, scoring eight goals, and in the 1907 close season moved on to Aston Villa.Wallace made 314 League appearances for Aston Villa over 14 years but only 9 competitive seasons due to sport being interrupted by the outbreak of World War I.

Wallace was the first player to miss a penalty kick in an FA Cup Final, when he missed the target from the spot in 1913 against Sunderland at London's Crystal Palace.