[5] At the age of fifteen, Blenkinsop began playing local football for Cudworth Village in the Senior Division of the Barnsley Association League alongside his brother.
By his late teens, he was regarded as the side's star player, earning 30 shillings a week, and helped them reach the final of the Barnsley and District Challenge Cup during the 1920–21 season.
They met Monkwell in the final, played at Oakwell, suffering a 2–0 defeat but a reporter from the Barnsley Independent commented that Blenkinsop had "shone in the middle line.
[6] After less than two full seasons and only 11 first-team appearances for Hull City,[7] he was spotted by Sheffield Wednesday boss Bob Brown whilst playing in a reserve fixture as a forward.
[10] During his eleven-year spell with Wednesday, he made over 400 appearances in all competitions, scoring five times,[11] and was the club's most capped in player in history until his record was surpassed by goalkeeper Ron Springett.
[1] Liverpool manager George Patterson hoped to recreate the England full-back partnership Blenkinsop and Tom Cooper had together, adding Copper to his squad six months later.
[16] In January 1935, Liverpool looked to use Blenkinsop's experience despite his injury by appointing him as a non-playing captain for a league match against Blackburn Rovers with the remit of supporting and advising his teammates from the side of the pitch.
However, Football Association (FA) guidelines did not permit club representatives to coach players along the boundaries of the pitch and the match referee was instructed to intervene if Blenkinsop attempted to influence play.
[2] Blenkinsop caught the eye of the Football Association selectors in 1928 who choose him to play for England in a friendly match against France on 17 May 1928, at the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes, Paris.
[2] This record was subsequently beaten by Roger Byrne who appeared in 33 consecutive England games from his debut to his death in the Munich air disaster.
After retiring from professional football, he worked as an iron foundry labourer and after the war, became licensee of the Sportsman public house at Crosspool, Sheffield and remained so until his death four days after his 67th birthday in April 1969.