He played junior hockey for the St Catharines TeePees from 1959 to 1962, winning the Memorial Cup in 1960. Turning pro in 1962-63, Speer bounced around the minors until 1967-68, when he joined the expansion Pittsburgh Penguins. After playing parts of two seasons with the Penguins, Speer was accquired by the Boston Bruins in 1969 and was a part of their Stanley Cup-winning team in 1970. After that season Speer returned to the minors for two seasons. In the NHL Speer played in 130 games and scored 5 goals and 20 assists. In the WHA he scored 4 goals and 26 assists in 135 games.