Pannam, who made his debut in the 1907 VFL season, played 13 games in each of his first two years at Collingwood, both of which ended with participation in semi final loses.

[2] He was the brother of Australian rules legend Charlie, Sr., as well as the uncle of namesake Alby and dual premiership player Charlie Pannam Jr.[3] Pannam was appointed to the VFL list of umpires in 1914 and made his debut as a boundary umpire in round 4 at the East Melbourne Cricket Ground in the Essendon v. Richmond match.

He was quickly acquainted with the difficulties of country umpiring as his first match, played at Wandin, was delayed by the arrival of the visitors and he missed his train home back to Melbourne.

[4] Some weeks later he received praise from the local press for his handling of the Sale v. Traralgon match,[5] but from this point it is unclear what Pannam undertook before he again appears on the umpiring scene in 1921.

The highlights of the year were preliminary and grand finals in the Corangamite Football League.