Exeter-born Chris Vinnicombe played for the Grecians at the beginning of his professional career in the late 1980s and at its' end when Exeter City were in the Conference in 2005/06. Between times he played for Rangers, Burnley and Wycpmbe Wanderers. He also represented England at under-21 level. 

Chris became a City trainee upon finishing school in 1987 and was just short of his 18th birthday when he made his league debut at Doncaster Rovers in September 1988. Turning professional in January 1989, Chris made 25 league appearances in his debut season and started every game during the first three months of the subsequent 1989/90 campaign. Rapidly attracting the attention of bigger clubs, Chris was to sign for Glasgow Rangers - then managed by Graeme Souness - in November 1989 in a deal that involved an initial fee of £200,000 plus further instalments of £100,000 conditional on him making a certain number of appearances with a further payment if selected for England whilst at Rangers. 

Although Chris was part of a championship-winning squad in 1990/91, whilst also playing twelve times for England under-21s, he never made enough appearances to trigger more than one extra payment. With his first-team opportunities steadily diminishing he moved to Burnley for £200,000 in June 1994 where he was to make in excess of a hundred league and cup appearances over the next four seasons. Chris then embarked on a six-year stint with Wycombe Wanderers for whom he made over 250 appearances in all competitions famously playing a part in the Buckinghamshire club’s run to the semi-finals of the FA Cup in 2001. A supporters' player of the year during his time at Adams Park, Chris was freed in May 2004 and returned to Devon signing for Tiverton Town for whom he appeared around fifty times in 2004/05.

Chris then briefly returned to St James’ Park at the start of 2005/06 and made his reappearance in City’s first-team at Gravesend and Northfleet on 13 August 2005 just as the Grecians were embarking on a third season in the Conference. Then, after another league appearance the following week, Chris only played in one EFL Trophy game before making his final City appearance against Crawley on 25 April 2006. 

Back at Tiverton in 2006/07, and working for the club’s youth programme at East Devon College and managing the club’s under-18s, Chris made a further hundred-odd appearances for Tivvy before becoming manager of Witheridge between 2008 and 2010. He was then briefly player-manager of Tiverton when Martyn Rogers stepped aside ahead of taking charge of Elmore and later, between 2012 and 2016, returning for another spell in charge of Witheridge 

Chris has also worked as a youth coach with Saints South West.