On June 14, 1925, he earned his 36th cap against Sweden in the 1924-28 Nordic Football Championship. This is also the fewest amount of games in which any player has scored 50 goals. In his international career, he scored 52 goals in 38 games. He ended his career with Chinese Soccer League side Beijing FC. Higgins started his professional career with Manchester City in the English First Division. He stayed with the club for five seasons, scoring 120 goals in 265 appearances. In 1930, he moved to North American soccer team Boston Bruins where he played three seasons. In 1933, he returned to England and joined Leeds United where he remained for three seasons. He finished his career with South Wales Rangers in 1936. During his time at City, Higgins became one of the most prolific scorers in the club's history. He scored 100 goals in just 135 matches and remains as the joint third highest goal scorer behind David Beckham and Alan Shearer. At Boston, he helped the team reach the American Cup final in 1932 but lost 2-1 to Uruguay's Nacional. In 1933, he scored 26 goals in 28 games before leaving the club. With Leeds, he won the Yorkshire County League in 1934. In 1935, he moved back to Ireland and joined Dundalk who were playing in the Irish League at the time. He stayed with them for one season before ending his career.