Niall Quinn International career Who signed Quinn? Eamonn Dolan.
Where did QUinn remain in the 1993-1994 season?
Where was Niall Quinn in the 1993-1994 season?
Quinn played in the qualifiers for the 1986 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship, and made his Irish international debut at under-17 level against Northern Ireland at Seaview in a 6-1 friendly win in January 1985, the first ever fixture between the two nations. Quinn scored a hat trick as did Eamonn Dolan. However Arsenal refused permission for Quinn to travel to the 1985 FIFA World Youth Championships.  Quinn made his senior debut as a substitute against the host nation in the Iceland Triangular Tournament in 1986. Quinn played for his country at two World Cups, in 1990 and 2002; he missed the 1994 FIFA World Cup because of injury. Quinn was also a member of the Irish squad that participated in the 1988 European Football Championship playing just once, as a substitute in the Republic of Ireland's 1-0 win over England in Stuttgart.  Quinn scored the equaliser against the Netherlands in the 1990 FIFA World Cup which allowed the Republic to progress to the second round of that tournament. In the qualifiers for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he scored against Cyprus on his 35th birthday to break the all-time goalscoring record, then held by Frank Stapleton. In the tournament proper, his header set up Robbie Keane's late equaliser against Germany, which was the only goal Germany conceded before the final. In the second-round, with the Republic behind 1-0 to Spain, it was a foul on Quinn that led to Ireland's last-minute penalty, converted by Robbie Keane, which tied the game and brought extra-time, but the Republic lost 3-2 in the resulting penalty shootout.  After the tournament, he announced his retirement from international football, amassing 92 caps. At the time, he was his country's all-time top scorer with 21 goals; this record was later surpassed by Robbie Keane in October 2004.  Quinn had a testimonial match between Sunderland and the Republic of Ireland in 2002. He donated the entire proceeds to charity, an act for which he received a number of awards, including an honorary MBE. Instead of receiving an appearance fee for the game, all the players received a letter from a sick child. Quinn played for both teams during the match, which raised over PS1 million. The Republic of Ireland won the match 3-0. CANNOTANSWER
Iceland Triangular Tournament in 1986.
Niall John Quinn (honorary MBE; born 6 October 1966) is an Irish former professional footballer, manager, businessman and sports television pundit.

As a player he was a striker who played top flight football for Arsenal, Manchester City and Sunderland, with spells in the Premier League for both City and the Black Cats. Quinn also received 92 caps for the Republic of Ireland national football team, scoring 21 times, which makes him Ireland's second highest goalscorer of all time. He also appeared with the Irish team at the UEFA European Football Championship of 1988 and two FIFA World Cups in 1990 and 2002.

He later was part of a consortium to buy Sunderland and became the clubs chairman. He also had a spell as manager before stepping down to a role of club director. He left the club in February 2012 and has since worked as a pundit namely on Sky Sports.

Playing career

Gaelic games
Niall Quinn played Gaelic football for the Perrystown, Dublin 12, club Robert Emmets. He also played underage football and hurling for Dublin. In July 1983, Quinn captained a Dublin Colleges GAA party on a one-month tour of Australia.

Aged 16, he played in the 1983 All-Ireland Minor Hurling Championship Final, and was offered a contract to play professional Australian rules football before settling on a career in football. He played Gaelic football for Co. Kildare club Eadestown after his retirement, winning a junior C county title in 2008.

Club career

Arsenal
He played as a youth for Irish club Manortown United, which was based at Greentrees Park, adjacent to Robert Emmets GAC (it not being unusual in Dublin to play two separate codes of football). After an unsuccessful trial at Fulham he signed professional forms with English club Arsenal in 1983. He was signed as a centre-forward, but also had a brief spell as a centre-half for the Arsenal third team. After scoring 18 goals in 18 reserve matches in the first half of the 1985–86 season, Quinn was included in the first-team squad for a match against Liverpool. Quinn scored in the match as Arsenal recorded a 2–0 win. He made a further 11 league appearances for Arsenal that season, but failed to score as they finished seventh in the league. The end of the season brought Quinn his first call-up to the Republic of Ireland national team.

Quinn found himself playing under a new manager for the following season, as George Graham was appointed in place of Don Howe. Quinn had a regular place in the side that season, appearing in 35 league games and scoring eight goals. He also collected a Football League Cup winner's medal as Arsenal triumphed 2–1 over Liverpool. However, after Arsenal signed another target man, Alan Smith, in the 1987 close season, Quinn struggled to get into the team. Over the next three seasons he managed a total of just 20 league appearances and five goals – his three appearances in 1988–89 not being enough for a title medal. Quinn's lack of opportunities led him to submit a written transfer request at the start of the 1989–90 season. In total he scored 20 goals in 94 appearances for Arsenal, of which 81 were starts.

Manchester City
Manchester City manager Howard Kendall signed Quinn for £800,000 in March 1990, shortly before the transfer deadline. He marked his debut with a goal, in a 1–1 draw against Chelsea at Maine Road. He scored 22 times in his first full season, and he went on to spend six years at the club, scoring 78 goals in 245 appearances; his time at City was hampered by a cruciate ligament injury in 1993–94. Although he returned to the side the following season, he managed just eight goals from 35 games.

His most notable game for City was 20 April 1991 when he scored early on and saved a penalty as City beat Derby County 2–1, relegating Derby in the process. City goalkeeper Tony Coton had been sent off before half time for fouling Dean Saunders to concede the penalty. At this time teams rarely named goalkeepers as substitutes, so Quinn replaced Coton in goal. Other notable games included the Manchester derby on 7 November 1993, in which he scored twice in the first half to put City 2–0 up against United by half time, although a remarkable United comeback saw City lose 3–2.

In the 1993 close season, Everton made a bid to sign Quinn and a further bid was made early in the 1993–94 season, but both bids were rejected and Quinn remained at Maine Road for a further three seasons. A cruciate ligament injury sustained in a match against Sheffield Wednesday in November 1993 caused Quinn to miss the majority of the 1993–94 season, and prevented him from playing in the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He returned at the start of the 1994–95 season, but the partnership forged by Uwe Rösler and Paul Walsh in his absence meant he was not always a starter. In attempt to reduce the wage bill, Manchester City tried to sell Quinn in the 1995 close-season, but a proposed move to Lisbon club Sporting fell through after failure to agree contractual terms.

He managed a total of 193 league appearances in over six years at Maine Road, and scored a total of 64 goals for them.

Sunderland

Quinn finished his career with a highly successful spell at Sunderland, joining the north-east club in August 1996 for a club record £1.3 million, although he missed six months of his first season due to a knee injury – similar to the one which ruined his World Cup chances three years earlier. Before his injury, he had got off to a fine start to his Sunderland career, finding the net twice on his debut in a 4–1 win at Nottingham Forest. In his absence from September to March, Sunderland struggled and although he was back in action by the end of the season, they were relegated.

His partnership with striker Kevin Phillips, signed in the 1997 close season, was one of the most prolific in the Football League in the late 1990s/early 2000s (a combined 194 goals for both players in all competitions from 1997-98 to 2002-03) and helped the club to regain promotion to the Premiership for the 1999–2000 season. In March 1999 Quinn again had to play in goal, this time replacing the injured Thomas Sørensen in a game against Bradford City. In similar circumstances to when playing for Manchester City against Derby County in 1991 Quinn scored and then went in goal, and kept a clean sheet to help his side win. He also has the distinction of being the first player to score at Sunderland's Stadium of Light, against Manchester City in 1997. He became a local legend at Sunderland, winning both the Sunderland and North East Sportswriters' Player of the Year awards in 1999 after scoring 21 goals in Sunderland's record-breaking Division One title-winning season. His final appearance for Sunderland came on 19 October 2002 against West Ham.

In a league career lasting 17 years, he had played a total of 475 times in the Premier League and Football League, scoring 141 goals.

International career
Quinn played in the qualifiers for the 1986 UEFA European Under-18 Football Championship, and made his Irish international debut at under-17 level against Northern Ireland at Seaview in a 6–1 friendly win in January 1985, the first ever fixture between the two nations. Quinn scored a hat trick as did Eamonn Dolan. However Arsenal refused permission for Quinn to travel to the 1985 FIFA World Youth Championships.

Quinn made his senior debut as a substitute against the host nation in the Iceland Triangular Tournament in 1986. Quinn played for his country at two World Cups, in 1990 and 2002; he missed the 1994 FIFA World Cup because of injury.		
Quinn was also a member of the Irish squad that participated in the 1988 European Championship playing just once, as a substitute in the Republic of Ireland's 1–0 win over England in Stuttgart.

Quinn scored the equaliser against the Netherlands in the 1990 FIFA World Cup which allowed the Republic to progress to the second round of that tournament. In the qualifiers for the 2002 FIFA World Cup, he scored against Cyprus on his 35th birthday to break the all-time goalscoring record, then held by Frank Stapleton. In the tournament proper, his header set up Robbie Keane's late equaliser against Germany, which was the only goal Germany conceded before the final. In the second-round, with the Republic behind 1–0 to Spain, it was a foul on Quinn that led to Ireland's last-minute penalty, converted by Robbie Keane, which tied the game and brought extra-time, but the Republic lost 3–2 in the resulting penalty shootout.

After the tournament, he announced his retirement from international football, amassing 92 caps. At the time, he was his country's all-time top scorer with 21 goals; this record was later surpassed by Robbie Keane in October 2004.

Quinn had a testimonial match between Sunderland and the Republic of Ireland in 2002. He donated the entire proceeds to charity, an act for which he received a number of awards, including an honorary MBE. Instead of receiving an appearance fee for the game, all the players received a letter from a sick child. Quinn played for both teams during the match, which raised over £1 million. The Republic of Ireland won the match 3–0.

Post-playing career

Quinn retired in 2003 at the age of 37, taking a brief coaching role at Sunderland. Quinn has also made appearances as a television pundit and commentator for televised matches involving his former teams with Sky Sports. He made a single league appearance for Thai Premier League side BEC Tero Sasana in March 2006 to promote the league and the side's link with Arsenal.

Quinn released an acclaimed autobiography Niall Quinn – The Autobiography (2002), which was ghostwritten by Tom Humphries. It won the Best Autobiography category in the inaugural British Sports Book Awards. It was also nominated for a William Hill Sports Book of the Year award. The book is not structured chronologically, but rather in the context of Quinn's career swansong, the 2002 World Cup in South Korea and Japan.

Heading the Drumaville Consortium of wealthy Irish businessmen, in June 2006, Quinn successfully brokered a deal to buy a controlling stake in Sunderland. In July 2006 Quinn became the chairman and manager of Sunderland. The deal was finalised on 27 July 2006, with sufficient shares being sold to the consortium in order for them to take complete control.

His managerial career did not get off to a good start as the team lost its first four league games in a row. On 22 August, Sunderland played Bury away in the League Cup where they lost 2–0. After the match Quinn said that a new manager would be appointed by Sunderland's next game. Quinn stepped to one side (to continue in his role as Sunderland chairman) paving the way for Roy Keane to take charge. This was highly unexpected considering the huge rift between the two arising from Keane's infamous ejection from the 2002 World Cup. Keane was appointed manager of the club on 28 August 2006. The appointment matured into a great success, with Sunderland clinching an immediate Premier League comeback as Football League Championship champions. Quinn made substantial amounts of money available for buying new players, as he had a declared ambition to establish Sunderland as a top club. 

In 2008, he received the James Joyce Award of the Literary & Historical Society in University College Dublin.

In 2010, Quinn was named a patron of the Sir Bobby Robson Foundation.

In October 2011 Ellis Short replaced Quinn as chairman of Sunderland. Quinn was appointed as Director of International Development on behalf of the club and remained in this role until stepping down in February 2012 and after six years involved with the running of the club saying "Everything is in place for Sunderland to really make a statement, which was always my aim".

Since leaving Sunderland, Quinn is now chairman of a satellite broadband company in Ireland called Q Sat.

In 2012, Quinn started commentating for Sky Sports and normally commentates alongside Martin Tyler.
He won, also in 2012, the North East Football Writers' Association's Personality of the Year for 2011. In November 2013, Quinn was bestowed with the Freedom of Sunderland award by the city of Sunderland.

In January 2020, Quinn was appointed as interim deputy chief executive officer of the Football Association of Ireland, choosing to go without salary until the financial future of the organisation could be secured. In September 2020 he stepped down from his interim CEO role.

Fan relationships
Quinn has his own song titled "Niall Quinn's Disco Pants". The song was originally created by Manchester City supporters during a night out on a pre-season tour in Penola, Italy, in 1992. There had been a bust-up with City team-mate Steve McMahon and Quinn had removed his torn and bloodied shirt and was dancing with Rick Holden wearing just a pair of cut-off jeans. He was "hardly aware" that there were a group of hardcore City fans watching and they treated him to "the first performance of the song that will follow me till the end of my career."

The song was adopted by Sunderland fans and released as a single by the club's dedicated fanzine A Love Supreme. It reached no. 56 in the UK Singles Chart in April 1999.

Quinn has received praise for his relationship with Sunderland fans. This was highlighted in March 2007 when, during his tenure as chairman, Quinn paid over £8000 to allow around 100 Sunderland fans to travel home by taxi when stranded at Bristol airport after being ejected from their scheduled flight home. The incident happened on Saturday night when Quinn, Sunderland staff and a group of supporters boarded an easyJet flight from Bristol to Newcastle, following Sunderland's 1–0 win at Championship promotion rivals Cardiff. After spotting Quinn, many of the fans broke into song, serenading Quinn with 'Niall Quinn's Disco Pants'. EasyJet staff, angered by the boisterous behaviour, ejected the fans from the plane and Quinn, outraged at the fans' treatment, also left the plane. Quinn, seeing there were no other flights available, decided to commandeer a fleet of taxis and minivans in order to return the fans home.

Personal life
Both Quinn's parents are from Thurles, County Tipperary. His father as well as his mother's brothers played hurling for Tipperary. He was born in Dublin. He now lives in Kildare. He has been married to the Irish model Gillian Roe since 1992, and they have two children: Aisling and Michael.

Career statistics

Club

International goals
Scores and results list Ireland's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Quinn goal.

Managerial record

Honours
Arsenal
Football League Cup: 1986–87

Sunderland
Football League First Division: 1998–99

Individual
 Irish Young Player of the Year: 1990
 Manchester City Player of the Year: 1991
PFA Team of the Year: 1998–99 First Division
 Sunderland Player of the Year: 1999
 North East Football Writers' Player of 1999
 Beacon Fellowship Prize for his contribution to medical and children's charities, 2003
PFA Merit Award: 2002
North East Football Writers' Association's Personality of the Year: 2011
Freedom of Sunderland award: 2013

See also
 List of outfield association footballers who played in goal
 List of players who have converted from one football code to another

References

External links

 
 
 The Niall Quinn Living Tribute Site
 Niall Quinn articles for The Guardian
 Fan site

1966 births
Living people
Association football forwards
Association footballers from Dublin (city)
Arsenal F.C. players
Manchester City F.C. players
Sunderland A.F.C. players
Niall Quinn
Premier League players
English Football League players
Niall Quinn
1990 FIFA World Cup players
2002 FIFA World Cup players
UEFA Euro 1988 players
Businesspeople from County Dublin
Dual players
Dublin Gaelic footballers 
Dublin hurlers 
Eadestown Gaelic footballers
English Football Hall of Fame inductees
Gaelic footballers who switched code
Irish expatriate sportspeople in England
Irish expatriate sportspeople in Thailand
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Outfield association footballers who played in goal
People educated at Drimnagh Castle Secondary School
Republic of Ireland association footballers
Republic of Ireland football chairmen and investors
Republic of Ireland international footballers
Republic of Ireland B international footballers
Republic of Ireland under-21 international footballers
Republic of Ireland under-23 international footballers
Republic of Ireland youth international footballers
Republic of Ireland football managers
Republic of Ireland expatriate football managers
Robert Emmets Gaelic footballers
Robert Emmets hurlers
Sunderland A.F.C. directors and chairmen
Sunderland A.F.C. managers
Roman Tredarian Quinn (born May 14, 1993) is an American professional baseball center fielder who is a free agent. He previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Philadelphia Phillies.

Quinn grew up in an athletic family in Port St. Joe, Florida, and played basketball, gridiron football, and baseball at Port St. Joe High School. His rapid sprint speed caught the attention of sports journalists while he was still in high school, and the Phillies drafted Quinn in the second round of the 2011 MLB Draft. Quinn had previously committed to play college baseball for Florida State, but chose instead to sign with the Phillies. He began playing professional baseball within the Phillies' farm system in 2012, when he was assigned to the Class A Short-Season Williamsport Crosscutters. There, his batting technique and running abilities caused local reporters to dub Quinn the "Human Highlight Reel".

Beginning in 2013, injuries began to plague Quinn's career. A hairline fracture in his right wrist, followed by a ruptured Achilles tendon during the offseason, kept him from the field from June 2013 to May 2014. The following June, with the Reading Fightin Phils, Quinn suffered a torn hip flexor that kept him on the disabled list for the remainder of the season. A premature return from an abdominal oblique strain in July, as well as a concussion, limited Quinn to 77 games in 2016, but he returned by September to make his major league debut.

Despite telling journalists that his main goal for the 2017 season was to remain healthy, Quinn suffered an injury to his ulnar collateral ligament that May, and missed the remainder of the season. He played a handful of games with the Toros del Este of the Dominican Professional Baseball League, and was in contention for a major league role at spring training in 2018. Quinn was instead assigned to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, where he suffered a torn ligament in his middle finger, before being called up to the Phillies at the end of July. He played through the end of the season with a broken pinky toe, but missed Opening Day the following year due to a preseason oblique strain. After a largely healthy 2019 and 2020, Quinn again ruptured his Achilles tendon while rounding the bases in May 2021, ending his season after only 28 games.

Early life 
Quinn was born on May 14, 1993, in Port St. Joe, Florida. He came from an athletic family, with relatives who participated in track and field, baseball, and gridiron football. He attended Port St. Joe High School, playing on the same football team as future National Football League (NFL) player Calvin Pryor. He was a three-sport athlete, earning all-state honors and scoring an average of 20.6 points per game in basketball, serving as a return specialist and defensive back on the football team, and playing in center field for the baseball team. In 2011, during Quinn's senior year of high school, Baseball America named him the fastest man in their Top 200 pre-draft report; he had a 6.35-second 60-yard dash speed, and took an average of 4.20 seconds to run from home plate to first base. Quinn was also a strong hitter, with a .458 batting average, two home runs, and 20 runs batted in (RBIs) as a junior in 2010.

Professional career

Minor league career 

The Philadelphia Phillies of Major League Baseball (MLB) selected Quinn in the second round, 66th overall, of the 2011 MLB Draft. Quinn had previously committed to play college baseball at Florida State University, but turned down the team's athletic scholarship to sign with the Phillies for a $775,000 signing bonus. Because he did not sign with the Phillies until the day before the MLB deadline for college-committed players, Quinn could not start playing professional baseball until the 2012 season. Quinn began his professional career in 2012 with the Class A Short Season Williamsport Crosscutters of the New York–Penn League. Despite batting right-handed and playing in the outfield in high school, he became a switch hitter and a shortstop with the Crosscutters. Sports journalists in Williamsport took notice of Quinn's "put the ball on the ground and run" batting style and declared him the "Human Highlight Reel". He finished the season with a .281 average in 66 games and 267 at bats, with 75 hits, one home run, and 23 RBIs, as well as 30 stolen bases. Additionally, Quinn's 11 triples were the most in the New York–Penn League and in the Phillies organization.

Going into the 2013 season, Baseball America named Quinn the second-best prospect in the Phillies' farm system, and the 100th-best prospect in baseball. He was assigned to the Class A Lakewood BlueClaws to start the season, and on April 9, Quinn hit an inside-the-park home run in a game against the Hagerstown Suns. On June 24, 2013, Quinn suffered a hairline fracture in his right wrist, ending his season early. In 67 games for Lakewood, he boasted a .238 average, with 62 hits, five home runs, and 21 RBIs in 260 at bats, as well as 32 stolen bases in 67 games. During the offseason, Quinn ruptured his right Achilles tendon, putting him out of commission for the start of the following year. Quinn returned to the field in May 2014, playing with the Class A-Advanced Clearwater Threshers. He began the season as a shortstop, but after J. P. Crawford was promoted to Clearwater that June, Quinn was moved back to center field. He spent most of the season as the Threshers' leadoff hitter, batting .257 with seven home runs, 36 RBIs, 32 stolen bases, and a .343 on-base percentage in 88 games. After the conclusion of the regular 2014 Minor League Baseball season, Quinn was sent to play in the Arizona Fall League for additional development. While playing with the Scottsdale Scorpions, Quinn was first in the league with 14 stolen bases and second in runs scored with 19. He was named both to the Top Prospects Team, selected by managers and coaches, and to the Fall Stars Game.

The following year, Quinn was assigned to the Double A Reading Fightin Phils of the Eastern League. That July, he was one of four Reading players named to the Eastern League All-Star Classic. At the time, he led the Eastern League with 29 stolen bases and six triples, and was seventh in the MiLB with a .306 batting average. He did not end up playing in the game, however; on June 12, the day after an 18-inning game with Reading, a dehydrated and exhausted Quinn was injured in the second inning of a game with what was later diagnosed as a Grade 3 tear to his left hip flexor. He did not play for the rest of the season. That November, the Phillies added Quinn to their expanded 40-man roster to protect him from the Rule 5 draft. He recorded four home runs, 15 RBIs, and a .306 average in 257 plate appearances with Reading in 2015. Quinn recovered from the injury by October 15, the start of the Dominican Professional Baseball League season, and joined the Tigres del Licey. Quinn, alongside a number of fellow MLB prospects, helped take the Tigres to the Dominican League playoff series. He batted .212 with two home runs, seven RBIs, and two triples in 99 at bats, and eight stolen bases in 25 games.

Quinn rejoined Reading for the 2016 season as the No. 7 Phillies prospect, according to MLB.com. He went into the season with a desire to increase his on-field versatility by learning the other outfield positions. Once again, his season was hindered by injury: Quinn strained his abdominal oblique at the plate on June 4, and returned to the field prematurely ten days later. Because the injury was not healed when he began playing again, Quinn missed nearly two months of the season for additional recovery. He returned to the disabled list in August after being hit in the head during an attempted pickoff throw. In the injury-riddled season, Quinn finished the year with a .302 average with six home runs, 25 RBIs, and 36 stolen bases in 77 games.

Philadelphia Phillies 

When the minor league season ended, Quinn was promoted to the Phillies' extended roster as a September call-up. He made his major league debut on September 11, 2016, playing in center field and batting second in the order against the Washington Nationals, and went 0–3 and drew a walk. The following day, in a home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates, Quinn hit two doubles, stole a base, drew a walk, and drove in two runs in a 6–2 victory. On September 27, Quinn left a game against the Atlanta Braves in the sixth inning with another oblique strain, ending his season early. In 15 major league games with the Phillies, he hit .263 with six RBIs and five stolen bases in six attempts.

When asked about his plan for 2017, Quinn told reporters, "My goal is to stay healthy, man, just to be honest with you", and expressed his frustration at never playing a full season of baseball. Going into the season as Baseball America's No. 8 prospect, Quinn was assigned to the Triple A Lehigh Valley IronPigs. While sliding into third base on May 28, Quinn suffered an injury to his ulnar collateral ligament, which kept him out for the remainder of the season. In 45 games with Lehigh, Quinn batted .274 with two home runs, 13 RBIs, and 10 stolen bases. That winter, he returned to the Dominican League, playing in six games for the Toros del Este. There, he batted .125 in 19 plate appearances, with two hits and two runs.

After appearing in spring training with the Phillies, where he was evaluated for a possible major league position in the outfield or at shortstop, Quinn returned to Lehigh Valley in 2018. That May, Quinn tore a ligament in his right middle finger while diving into a base, and spent several weeks on the disabled list to recover from surgery. On July 27, 2018, after his rehabilitation process, Quinn was recalled to the Phillies to be used as a pinch runner or pinch hitter. Three days later, manager Gabe Kapler chose to give Quinn the start over right fielder Nick Williams for a game against the Boston Red Sox. In the first game of a doubleheader against the New York Mets on August 16, Quinn and fellow position player Scott Kingery were required to pitch the final innings of a 24–4 loss when the team ran out of available relief pitchers. His first major league home run came on August 21, against Nationals pitcher Matt Grace. In September, Quinn suffered a "very, very small" fracture to his right pinky toe, but was expected to play through the end of the season. Quinn finished the season with a .260 average, including two home runs and 12 RBIs, in 131 at bats, as well as 10 stolen bases in 50 games.

Quinn began the 2019 season on the 10-day injured list after suffering an oblique strain during training camp. He returned to the team after recovering from the injury, and successfully stole home plate in the third inning of a 2–1 loss to the Miami Marlins. On July 16, when Yacksel Ríos allowed three extra-base hits and hit Justin Turner with a pitch, Quinn was called to pitch the final outs of a 16–2 loss against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Quinn was called to pitch again on August 3, when a game against the Chicago White Sox bled into 15 innings. He pitched a scoreless 14th inning before the Phillies eventually fell 4–3. That day, Quinn became the first Phillies position player since 1961 to make at least three career pitching appearances for the team, as well as the first major league player to record three hits, two stolen bases, and an appearance on the mound in the same game since George Sisler in 1920. On August 17, while fielding a ground ball, Quinn suffered a groin injury that echoed a strain earlier in the season. He did not play again that season. In 44 games for the Phillies in 2019, Quinn batted .213, with 23 hits, four home runs, and 11 RBIs in 108 at bats.

Quinn was named to his first-ever Opening Day roster in 2020, serving as one of six outfielders in an expanded 29-member team. On August 25, while playing the Nationals, both Quinn and left fielder Andrew McCutchen stole second base twice, leading to a season-high four stolen bases in one game for the Phillies. Quinn repeated the feat on September 5, stealing two bases against the Mets. In the sixth inning of that same game, Quinn crashed into the outfield wall while chasing a fly ball, and was placed on concussion protocols. On September 21, Quinn and manager Joe Girardi were both ejected from a game against the Nationals after arguing with home plate umpire Junior Valentine on a called third strike. In the 2020 season, which was shortened due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Quinn played in 41 out of 60 games, collecting two home runs, seven RBIs, and 12 stolen bases, as well as a .213 average.

Going into 2021, Quinn became part of a battle to start in center field, competing for the position with Kingery, Odubel Herrera, new signing Travis Jankowski, and prospect Mickey Moniak. On March 30, Herrera was cut from the team, giving Quinn and prospect Adam Haseley the opportunity to alternate in center field. On May 26, while attempting to round third base in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays, Quinn collapsed on the turf, falling again when he crossed home plate. An MRI confirmed that Quinn had ruptured his Achilles tendon, and the recovery period was expected to be nine to twelve months. He appeared in 28 games before his  season-ending injury, recording a .173 average, two RBIs, and four stolen bases in 52 at bats, while on defense he had a 1.000 fielding percentage with two assists.
On November 30, 2021, Quinn was non-tendered by the Phillies, making him a free agent.

Player profile 

Quinn, shorter than many of his teammates at  and known for his speed while running the bases, drew early comparisons to retired Phillies shortstop Jimmy Rollins. During the 2020 season, Quinn led the MLB in sprint speed, capable of running , an improvement from the previous year's  average. He attributed the development to losing  during the offseason. Former MLB outfielder Kenny Lofton helped Quinn develop a batting style that would take advantage of his smaller frame and rapid speed, allowing him to compete with larger, slower power hitters. He emphasizes bunting, line drives, and other batting techniques that slow down the speed of play, thus allowing Quinn to safely reach base, whereupon he can attempt to steal.

Like many hitters with his speed, Quinn is a switch hitter. The Phillies signed Quinn as a right-handed hitter out of high school, but he used a delay between signing and playing with the team during the 2011–12 offseason to learn how to bat from both sides. Despite his fast, aggressive playing style, Quinn struggles at times with getting on base. In his final 16 games of 2018, for instance, he went only 5 for 47, with 21 strikeouts. There have been additional concerns about Quinn's frequent injuries; at no point since the 2014 season has he made more than 300 plate appearances.

Personal life 
Quinn married his girlfriend, Jenifer McLemore, on January 27, 2018. The couple has one daughter, Londyn Gabriella, born on July 8, 2014, and two sons, Khailan Grey (b. February 7, 2019) and Oaklan Gabriel (b. October 19, 2020). During the offseason, Quinn and his family reside in Port St. Joe. In 2018, Quinn, his wife and children, and his extended family, were impacted when Hurricane Michael hit the Florida Panhandle, including Port St. Joe. Although no one in Quinn's family was harmed by the storm, Quinn and his wife lost power, and his wife's family suffered property damage. He told reporters after the storm passed, "We will be cleaning up for years."

References

External links

1993 births
Living people
African-American baseball players
People from Port St. Joe, Florida
Baseball players from Florida
Major League Baseball outfielders
Philadelphia Phillies players
Williamsport Crosscutters players
Lakewood BlueClaws players
Clearwater Threshers players
Scottsdale Scorpions players
Reading Fightin Phils players
Tigres del Licey players
American expatriate baseball players in the Dominican Republic
Florida Complex League Phillies players
Lehigh Valley IronPigs players
21st-century African-American sportspeople James Martin Quinn (born 18 November 1959) is a former Northern Ireland international footballer and is now working in management.

He was capped 46 times for his country, and is one of Northern Ireland's top goalscorers, having found the net 12 times at senior level. He also enjoyed a successful club career, scoring 210 goals in the Football League alone, and has enjoyed some success as a manager, including winning promotion to the Football League with Shrewsbury Town in 2004 and taking Reading to the brink of the Premier League in 1995.

Club career
Quinn had a club career spanning eighteen years for a number of lower division clubs, during which he was a prolific scorer at centre forward. The pinnacle of his league football career was winning the Second Division 'Golden Boot' award for the 1993–94 season, having scored 40 goals for Reading, who were promoted as champions. Quinn was known for his towering aerial presence and a keen eye for goal.

Quinn began in non-league football with Whitchurch Alport and joined Nantwich Town in the 1979 close season from where he moved on to Congleton Town. He stepped up to League football at Swindon Town, John Trollope signing him from non-league Oswestry Town for £10,000 in December 1981, the first of three spells at Swindon's County Ground. He had to wait three months for his debut, coming on as a substitute in a 2–2 draw with Walsall, on 9 March 1982. He made his full debut at the end of the season, forming an attacking partnership with Paul Rideout, in a 3–2 win over Oxford United on 4 May. It did not help Swindon, who were relegated to the Fourth Division at the end of the season, for the first time in their history.

It took Quinn another whole season before he became a first team regular. He bagged a brace in a 7–0 demolition of Kettering Town in the FA Cup, and was given his chance in the next league match, when he again scored twice against Mansfield Town. Another goal in his next game cemented his place in the starting line-up, and Quinn missed just four of the remaining matches of the season. He really shone in the FA Cup, scoring six goals in five games, including one in a 2–1 home defeat by Second Division Blackburn Rovers. His performance obviously impressed them – at the end of the season Rovers signed Quinn for £32,500,despite not being able to control a bag of cement,he was a magnificent header of a football

After scoring 23 goals in 83 appearances for Rovers, Lou Macari persuaded Quinn to return to the County Ground in December 1986, for a fee of £50,000. He went straight into the starting line-up, and helped Swindon to a playoff place in the Third Division, with ten goals. Quinn missed the play-off final replay versus Gillingham through injury, but Swindon sealed promotion to the Second Division. The following season, Quinn was in fine form, scoring 31 goals in all competitions. When his contract expired in June 1988, Macari did his best to persuade Quinn to stay, but his efforts proved fruitless. Quinn agreed terms with Leicester City, and a tribunal set the fee at £210,000.

Quinn's stay at Leicester lasted less than nine months, and he scored a mere six goals from 31 appearances, most of which were as a substitute. In March 1989, he moved to Bradford City for £210,000, where he scored 14 goals in 35 games before moving again in December 1989, this time to West Ham United, who had recently been relegated from the First Division. The fee was £320,000, the highest sum paid for Quinn during his career. During his time at the club, Quinn scored eighteen league goals in forty-seven games, playing a part in their return to the First Division. It was here that Quinn earned his nickname of "Jimmy the Tree", as he did not seem very mobile on the pitch although he did score a good return of goals helping West Ham return to the First Division in 1991. However, Quinn did not play in the top flight, instead transferring to AFC Bournemouth of the Third Division at the start of the 1991–92 season. Although he only spent a single season at the south coast club, he scored nineteen goals in forty-three games.

He signed for Reading from Bournemouth in July 1992. He went on to make 294 appearances for the Royals, scoring 94 goals in the process. Reading were promoted from the Second Division in the summer of 1994 with the help of 35 league goals from 34-year-old Quinn (the top scorer in the entire Football League), and were comfortable in the First Division when manager Mark McGhee acrimoniously left Reading in the following December.

In total, Quinn played 578 games in the Football League, scoring 210 goals. He also scored twenty-two goals in forty-six appearances in the FA Cup, and sixteen goals in thirty-five appearances in the League Cup. In a vote to compile Reading's best-ever eleven, Quinn was voted the best striker with 35.4% of the vote. He scored five goals in his final (2003–04) league season playing for Shrewsbury, during which he turned 44 years of age.

After his League career ended, Quinn turned out for a number of non-league clubs and his career went full circle when he returned to Nantwich Town, playing for the club beyond the age of 46 before finally hanging up his boots at the end of the 2005–06 season.

International career
Quinn was a full international for Northern Ireland for 11 years, winning 46 caps and scoring 12 goals, making him one of the highest scorers in their history. His goals included a volley from outside the area against Northern Ireland's neighbours Republic of Ireland, and the goal which helped Northern Ireland qualify for the 1986 World Cup; his goal against Romania in a 1–0 was followed up by a 0–0 draw against England to secure qualification for a second successive World Cup Finals. He was Reading's most capped player for several years, until Kevin Doyle beat his record of 17 international caps with the club.

International goals

Scores and results list Northern Ireland's goal tally first

Management career
Quinn was appointed joint player-manager of Reading with Mick Gooding in December 1994 on the departure of Mark McGhee to Leicester City. Under their guidance, Reading finished second in Division One, but were denied automatic promotion to the Premier League as it was being reduced from 22 teams to 20 that season. Instead Reading were left to battle for Premier League football via the play-offs. Quinn scored the final goal in a 4–3 defeat to Bolton Wanderers, making Reading the only team to finish second in English football's second tier and not get promoted.

He left two years later after Reading endured two difficult seasons, during which they battled against relegation. He joined Peterborough United where he scored 25 league goals in his first season and was elected to the PFA Division Three team. The downside of the season was that the 38-year-old Quinn's prolific goalscoring was not enough to achieve promotion for the Cambridgeshire club.

In October 1998, Quinn returned to Swindon as manager following the departure of Steve McMahon. Chairman Rikki Hunt declared that he wanted someone who would die for Swindon Town – he chose Quinn. Little did he know it was to be an impossible task. Quinn managed to keep Swindon in Division One in the 1998–99 season, but his first full season in charge proved to be a disaster – with the club in dire financial straits, they fell into administration, players were sold, and no money was available to replace them. Now 40 years old, Quinn was even forced to don the Swindon shirt again, taking the number 40 shirt! Swindon Town were rock bottom from mid-November until the end of the season, breaking a club record of nineteen games without a win in the process. After relegation was confirmed, Quinn was removed after six of the seven new board members decided he should go – despite the impossible circumstances. Colin Todd was appointed as manager within days, fuelling speculation that the club's new owners had done a deal before Quinn was ousted.

Following his departure from Swindon, Quinn had brief spells as a player at Northwich Victoria and Hereford United of the Football Conference, Highworth Town of the Hellenic Football League, and Hayes of the Conference. In July 2001, Quinn returned to Northwich, this time as manager, although he also appeared for the club 46 times, scoring eight times.

Quinn moved to recently relegated Shrewsbury Town at the start of the 2003–04 season, and secured their immediate return to the Football League by winning the Conference playoff final. Despite being 44, Quinn made 15 Conference appearances and scored four goals.

Quinn resigned in October 2004, with Shrewsbury finding life hard back in the Football League. He returned briefly to Peterborough as assistant manager, and then became manager of Norwegian Division Three club Egersunds in December 2005. Despite a very successful spell, Quinn resigned after just five months, citing personal reasons. On 15 September 2006 Quinn was appointed manager of Conference National strugglers Cambridge United, signing a two-year contract, with his former Peterborough teammate Steve Castle as his assistant. United chairman Lee Power claimed that Quinn "filled all our criteria" for the job.

After struggling with Cambridge United for much of the 2006–07 season, Quinn led them to 17th place, avoiding relegation to the Conference South on the final day of the season. After bringing in Alan Lewer as his new Assistant, he led the U's to an impressive start to the following season, which saw them top the division after an unbeaten start to the season. He also oversaw a Boxing Day victory over local rivals Histon. Mark Albrighton's goal gave them a 1–0 victory at a packed Abbey Stadium, and revenge for the 5–0 thumping Histon gave the U's in the FA Trophy in December 2006.

Quinn led his Cambridge side to the play-offs in the 2007–08 season – beating Burton Albion 4–3 on aggregate in the semi-finals to set up a final against Exeter City at Wembley. In June 2008, Quinn parted company with the club by mutual consent after lengthy talks with chairman Phillip Law.

On 2 September 2008, Quinn was named as the new Bournemouth manager, replacing Kevin Bond who was sacked the previous day. After 121 days on 31 December, Quinn was sacked after a run of poor results, including a 2–0 loss at home to fellow relegation battlers, Barnet.

In March 2011, Quinn was appointed manager of Nantwich Town in the Northern Premier League. He left by mutual consent on 15 March 2013.

Honours
Player
Promotions
 1993–94: Division Three Champion (promotion to Division Two) – Reading
 1990–91: Division Two runner up (promotion to Division One) – West Ham United
 1986–87: Division Three Playoff Winner (promotion to Division Two) – Swindon Town

Awards
 1993–94: Division Three Golden Boot Winner

Player manager
 1994–95: Division One runner-up – Reading

Manager
Promotions;
 2003–04: Conference National Playoff Winner (promotion to League Two) – Shrewsbury Town

Notes

References

External links

Profile - Jimmy Quinn UpThePosh! The Peterborough United Database
Jimmy Quinn The Wonderful World of West Ham United statistics

1959 births
Living people
Association footballers from Belfast
Association footballers from Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland international footballers
Whitchurch Alport F.C. players
Congleton Town F.C. players
Oswestry Town F.C. players
Swindon Town F.C. players
Blackburn Rovers F.C. players
Leicester City F.C. players
Bradford City A.F.C. players
West Ham United F.C. players
AFC Bournemouth players
Reading F.C. players
Peterborough United F.C. players
Northwich Victoria F.C. players
Hereford United F.C. players
Highworth Town F.C. players
Hayes F.C. players
Shrewsbury Town F.C. players
Nantwich Town F.C. players
Football managers from Northern Ireland
Reading F.C. managers
Swindon Town F.C. managers
Northwich Victoria F.C. managers
Shrewsbury Town F.C. managers
Egersunds IK managers
Cambridge United F.C. managers
AFC Bournemouth managers
Nantwich Town F.C. managers
1986 FIFA World Cup players
English Football League players
National League (English football) managers
Association football forwards