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Former Clearwater Bomber pitcher Bobby Quinn passes away
By Bill Plummer
When Bobby Quinn took the mound for the famed Clearwater, FL Bombers, you knew he would battle from the first pitch to the last pitch.
Quinn, who earned ASA All-America honors four times during his long career, passed away Friday, July 31 in Clearwater, FLA. Quinn was born November 19, 1941 in Somerville, MA and starred in both college hockey and fast pitch softball, which is a rare combination.
In 2001, Quinn was inducted into the ASA National Softball Hall of Fame and four years later was honored with induction into the UMass Boston State Hockey Hall of Fame.
In hockey, Quinn transferred from Boston University to Boston State College and in two years established himself as one of the most prolific ice hockey forwards. He led the NCAA in scoring with 67 points for the 1964-65 season averaging 3.9 points per game. Just to show that it wasn't a fluke, Quinn again led the NCAA in scoring as a senior with 71 points and led Boston State to a 20-0 season and a No. 1 ranking among small colleges.
Quinn still ranks as the school's all-time leader in scoring average with 3.7 points per game to give him 138 points in 37 games and graduated (1969) as the career leader in total points before it was broken in 1975. He now stands fourth in Boston State history in career points and assists (73) and is fifth in goals (65). Prior to his transfer to Boston State, he was a member of the 1962 United States National Hockey Team that competed at the World Championships in Stockholm, Sweden.
In softball, Quinn played for Local 57 of Providence, RI and the renowned Clearwater Bombers, 10-time ASA national champ. Quinn hurled Local 57 to a third place finish in the 1965 ASA Men's Major Fast Pitch National Championship, compiling a 4-1 tourney record and a season mark of 34-4. A year later, Quinn led Local 57 to a second place finish in the Men's Major Fast Pitch National Championship, losing ironically to the Clearwater Bombers in the finals,4-2.
In 1971, Quinn moved to Clearwater and finished his career with the Bombers,hurling the team to the national title in 1973 and a runner-up spot a year earlier. In the 1973 National Quinn won three games including beating Sunnyvale, CA 4-1 in the championship game on a four-hitter. In 1972, Quinn split four games in the national tournament. Overall, Quinn appeared in 18 ASA National Tournaments and compiled a 22-17 won-lost record. Quinn made his last appearance in an ASA National Tourney in 1986. Quinn is one of 22 former Bombers enshrined in the ASA National Softball Hall of Fame in Oklahoma City.
Quinn was a school teacher for 30 years at both Ponce De Leon and San Jose Elementary.
Quinn is survived by his loving wife Diane (Myler) Quinn of Clearwater, his daughter Nancy Q. Preising and her husband Jeffrey of Seminole, daughter Stephanie Quinn and her fiancé Marquis O’Neal of Clearwater, daughter Melissa Quinn of Clearwater and grand-daughter Rachel Courtney. Dear brother of Walter Quinn of Tewsbury MA, the late Edith Schrage and her surviving husband Francis of Medford, MA, the late Joseph Quinn of Everett, MA, William Quinn and his wife Mary Jane of Reading, MA, the late Mary Quinn of Somerville, MA and James Quinn and his wife Maureen of Wakefied, MA. Also survived by many loving nieces, nephews and cousins.
