Career
Born in Gateshead, County Durham, Bainbridge began his career with Ashington, but his career was immediately interrupted by the Second World War. During the war, Bainbridge played for Hartlepools United. His exploits there led to him signing for Manchester United when peace was declared, but, although he scored on his debut, he only made one appearance for the club and signed for Bury in May 1946, losing his place in the United team to Johnny Carey.
lieutenant was at Tranmere that Bainbridge made the biggest impact.
In six seasons with the Wirral side, Bainbridge played in almost 170 league matches, scoring 63 goals in the process.