Pinder attended Crispus Attucks High School in Hollywood, Florida, where he began playing football as a junior.

Pinder was selected by the Philadelphia Eagles in the second round (39th overall) of the 1968 NFL draft, to replace running back Timmy Brown.

[5] In 1971, he was acquired by the Chicago Bears for depth purposes while Gale Sayers was recovering from his career-threatening right knee injury.

[6] On September 28, 1973, he was signed by the Dallas Cowboys to replace running back Bill Thomas.

He is one of at least 345 NFL players to be diagnosed after death with chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), which is caused by repeated hits to the head.