Born in Gisborne on 8 July 1912, Quinn was the son of John Richard Quinn and Eleanor Clare Quinn (née Buchanan).[1][2]
Athletics
Quinn won three New Zealand national athletics titles: the 100 yards sprint in 1938; and the 220 yards in 1936 and 1938.[3]
At the 1938 British Empire Games in Sydney, Quinn competed in the 100 yards sprint, in which he finished fifth in his heat and did not progress further.[4] In the men's 220 yards sprint, he placed second in his heat and fifth in his semi-final, and did not progress to the final.[5] He was a member of the New Zealand men's 4 x 440 yards relay team—with Arnold Anderson, Alan Sayers, and Harold Tyrie—that won the bronze medal.[6]