[3] As a child he was uninterested in football, but at the age of 17 he began playing for a local team in West Hartlepool called Baptists United and scored 39 goals in his first season.

[4] After a series of good performances for the reserve team, Pinkney made his Football League debut on 28 March 1910 against Bury when several regular starters were rested ahead of an important FA Cup match; he provided an assist for Everton's third goal in a 3–0 win, scored by Jimmy Gourlay.

[6] The following season, he again played four times and scored his only Football League goal for the club,[7] the second in a 2–0 win over Preston North End on 7 January 1911.

[14] When competitive football resumed, he played for Tranmere Rovers of the Lancashire Combination, although his appearances were restricted by a knee injury.

[15] In 1921 he returned to the Football League for the first time in nearly ten years when he joined Halifax Town, who had been chosen to be among the founder members of the new Third Division North.