Sam Hodgetts took up gymnastics at the turn of the 20th century, and was a member of the Birmingham Dolobran club that won the Adams Shield for the British Team Championship in 1906 and 1907. He was also the individual English champion in 1909, as well as the Adams Shield winner again, but this time with the Birmingham Athletic Institute. Hodgetts was unable to defend his individual title in 1910 due to a strained wrist, but did win the national team title again, and then won it for the fifth time the following year.
Having finished sixth (out of 96) in the individual all-round event at the 1908 London Olympics, Hodgetts won his only Olympic medal at Stockholm four years later, when he won bronze in the team event. Hodgetts made his third Olympic appearance at Antwerpen in 1920, and in 1924, at the age of 46, and the oldest amateur gymnast in the region, Hodgetts won the Midlands individual title. Away from gymnastics, he enjoyed racing pigeons.