Archibald Pinnell (1870–1948) was a Scottish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who played as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Career

Born in Ayrshire (although most of his early and later years were spent in

Blantyre, South Lanarkshire Blantyre ( or ; gd, Baile an t-Saoir) is a town and civil parish in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, with a population of 16,900. It is bounded by the River Clyde to the north, the Rotten Calder to the west, the Park Burn to the east (denoting the ...

), he initially played in the Scottish junior leagues with Blantyre Victoria and began his senior career with Everton (making the move south along with forward Allan Maxwell),The Allan Maxwell Story
Tony Onslow, EFC Heritage Society, 14 April 2020 where he made three appearances in the Football League. He moved to Preston North End in 1893, where he played as a reserve in a number of outfield positions. Having played in one league match, Pinnell joined Lancashire League side Chorley and established himself as their first choice goalkeeper. In June 1898, he returned to the Football League with

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, Lancashire, Preston, at the confluence of the River C ...

, where he made six first-team appearances. Pinnell made his debut for Burnley in the 1–1 draw with

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nottingham, England. The team participate in the National League, the fifth tier of the English football league system. Founded on the 25 November 1862, it is the ...

on 3 September 1898, and played four more league matches but spent most of the campaign as an understudy to

Jack Hillman William John 'Jack' Hillman (30 October 1871 – 16 December 1952) was an English football goalkeeper who played for Burnley, Everton, Dundee, Manchester City and Millwall. Career Jack Hillman was born in Tavistock, Devon, but it was in Lan ...

. During the 1899–1900 season, he played in the Southern League with New Brompton. Pinnell was playing for an amateur Plymouth side called Oreston Rovers in 1903 when he was signed by newly elected Southern League club Plymouth Argyle as back-up to former

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

international player

Jack Robinson Jack Robinson may refer to: Sportspeople *Jack Robinson (catcher) (1880–1921), American baseball player *Jack Robinson (footballer, born 1870) (1870–1931), England, Derby County and Southampton football goalkeeper * Jack Robinson (footballer, ...

. He made seven appearances for the club before returning to Oreston Rovers in 1904.

Personal life

Pinnell served in the

Scots Guards The Scots Guards (SG) is one of the five Foot Guards regiments of the British Army. Its origins are as the personal bodyguard of King Charles I of England and Scotland. Its lineage can be traced back to 1642, although it was only placed on the E ...

during the latter stages of the

Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the South ...

. After 9 years as a

reservist A reservist is a person who is a member of a military reserve force. They are otherwise civilians, and in peacetime have careers outside the military. Reservists usually go for training on an annual basis to refresh their skills. This person is ...

, he was

discharged Discharge may refer to Expel or let go * Discharge, the act of firing a gun * Discharge, or termination of employment, the end of an employee's duration with an employer * Military discharge, the release of a member of the armed forces from serv ...

from the

army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

in 1912 and re-enlisted in June 1915, nearly a year after the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. He served as an acting

corporal Corporal is a military rank in use in some form by many militaries and by some police forces or other uniformed organizations. The word is derived from the medieval Italian phrase ("head of a body"). The rank is usually the lowest ranking non- ...

in the

Chinese Labour Corps The Chinese Labour Corps (CLC; french: Corps de Travailleurs Chinois; ) was a force of workers recruited by the British government in the First World War to free troops for front line duty by performing support work and manual labour. The French ...

References

1870 births Footballers from North Ayrshire People from Blantyre, South Lanarkshire Scottish men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Blantyre Victoria F.C. players Everton F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players Chorley F.C. players Burnley F.C. players Military personnel from North Ayrshire Gillingham F.C. players Plymouth Argyle F.C. players Scottish Junior Football Association players English Football League players Southern Football League players Western Football League players 1948 deaths British Army personnel of the Second Boer War Scots Guards soldiers British Army personnel of World War I {{Scotland-footy-goalkeeper-stub Chinese Labour Corps soldiers People from Stevenston