He played amateur hockey before joining the NHL, winning the Allan Cup in 1930 with the Montreal AAA senior men's team. The next season was his first in the NHL, playing for the Montreal Maroons. The next season he played in the IHL and after that played two more for the Maroons. Kerr was very durable goalie, missing only ten games in eight seasons from 1933–34 to 1940–41. Kerr was the second hockey player to grace the cover of Time Magazine, doing so on March 14, 1938.