1949-1950

Frank Quinn was born on November 27, 1927, in Springfield, Mass. Young Frank played American Legion baseball during the summers of 1942 through 1944. He attended Southwest School in Hartford, and then to the Loomis School in Windsor, Connecticut, a prep school. In a May 1945 game, he struck out 20 batters from Wilbraham, his fifth win in a row for the undefeated Loomis team.

He graduated Loomis in 1945 and went to Yale. At age 17, he began as a starting pitcher for Yale’s summer baseball team. He was named to the 1946 Eastern College All-Star team. Yale won the Eastern Collegiate Baseball League title, with Frank posting a 1.00 ERA.

The year before graduation (1947), he played semipro ball for the East Douglas, Massachusetts, team in the Blackstone Valley League. He resumed pitching for the Yale Bulldogs and threw another one-hitter over Boston College in April of 1948.  His ERA over the years was just under 2.00 and he had amassed a total of 404 strikeouts, playing alongside future President  George H. W. Bush

In June, the Red Sox outbid the Yankees and Frank signed with Boston. He was immediately assigned to Birmingham. He worked in 13 Double-A Southern Association games, throwing 84 innings and recorded a 4.71 ERA.

World War II was well over, but the military still needed men and Frank was classified 1-A. There was some question in early 1949 as to whether he would be drafted. He was not called, and went to spring training in Sarasota.

His debut was at Fenway Park on Sunday afternoon in May against the Washington Senators. He appeared in eight games in all in 1949, all in relief, and posted an ERA of 2.86. The Red Sox were in another pennant race, this one decided on the very last day of the season, when the Yankees beat them. Though Frank had pitched well, he wasn’t used after July other than for two scoreless innings in August. The Red Sox still needed to keep him in the big leagues, because of the bonus rule and his year was largely wasted, with him taking up a roster slot and sitting on the bench.

He did report a little arm trouble during spring training in March 1950 and said it was something that had first bothered him in Birmingham. In May, not having been used again, he was put on waivers and was claimed by Washington. Five days after the trade, he was hit on the leg by a batted ball during batting practice and had to leave the mound. His arm was reported to be ailing, and he was treated for bursitis in his pitching shoulder. The Senators sent him to Chattanooga on 24-hour recall option.  He was recalled, placed on the disabled list, and put under the care of a Washington physician.

Frank joined the Senators for spring training in 1951, saying that his arm was all better, but it wasn’t. He was again optioned to Chattanooga, this time returned to Washington a couple of weeks later. The Senators weren’t ready to give up on him, and in August 1952, he was brought back onto the team’s active list and promptly optioned to Danville, Virginia, in the Class-B Carolina League. He didn’t pitch at all in either 1951 or 1952, and finally left the game. 

He later moved to Los Angeles and became Vice President of the First Western Bank and Trust Co. there. He worked as a bank executive in New York and Miami as well. In his later years, he worked in Florida real estate development. 

Frank Quinn died in Boynton Beach, Florida, on January 11, 1993, at age 65.