Marshall Quinton, Major League Catcher/Minor League Thief
Marshall Quinton played 33 major league games in 1884–85 and is barely a footnote in baseball history. This brief major league career came in the midst of a 20 year career spent playing for numerous minor league and semi-pro clubs.
Off the field, Quinton achieved notoriety for one reason: Marshall Quinton liked to steal.
A Young Scamp
Marshall Quinton stole from an early age. In 1866, at age 14, he was arrested for the first time. He was found hiding in the cellar of the Beagley’s grocery store in Philadelphia, evidently planning to rob the store after it closed. He was held on $500 bail on the misdemeanor charge of entering a house with felonious intent. Quinton was from a working class family, his father John, a shoemaker. One can imagine Quinton as a Dickensian waif, hungry and desperate.
Quinton began his baseball career a few years later. He first appears with the Young Americus club in Philadelphia circa 1874. From there he joined the Harrisburg Experts in June 1875, and quickly established himself as one of the top catchers in the state. His stellar play helped the Experts win the state championship of Pennsylvania. In December of that year, Quinton nearly drowned in the Susqehanna River while on a duck hunting trip.
The Pocketbook Grabber aka World’s Least Catchy Criminal Nickname
On January 12, 1876, Quinton and an accomplice named Harry Murray stole a pocketbook containing $30 dollars from a local domestic worker named Mary Murphy. In the 1876 equivalent of a joyride, Quinton and his accomplice used the stolen money to hire a horse and carriage and get plastered. Prior to the joyride, Quinton had broken into a confectionery and stolen a box of figs. The men were arrested that evening in nearby Rockville, completely intoxicated and with the carriage smashed. Quinton was held on $300 bail for malicious mischief and a further charge of larceny for the stolen figs.
The fig charge was dropped, and it is unclear what punishment Quinton faced for damaging the carriage. He is next heard from back in his native Philadelphia, where he joined the Kleinze Club, a strong local nine. In late May, he joined the Wilmington Amateur Quicksteps for a series against their the professional Quicksteps. He rejoined his old Harrisburg club in July and appears to have finished out the year with the Experts.
Decidedly Crooked
On November 23, 1876 the Harrisburg Telegraph reported that Quinton was charged for larceny (his third larceny charge if you are keeping track) when he “borrowed” a double barrelled shotgun from Charles Fisher and another shot gun from G. W. Krause and instead of returning them, he pawned the guns and kept the money.
Canada
In 1877, Quinton would head to Canada. He made his way to Guelph, Ontario, where he joined the Maple Leafs for the inaugural season of the International Association, widely considered baseball’s first minor league. He closed out the season with the rival London Tecumseh, who won the pennant.
Quinton was slated to begin 1878 with the Tecumseh, when it was reported in the March 17, 1878 Chicago Tribune, that his contract would be cancelled due to the “player’s commitment to jail” on a larceny charge. According to the account, Quinton was sentenced to three months for stealing a revolver from a “house of ill-fame” (aka brothel) in Guelph. The write up in the Tribune is spectacular in it’s anti-Philadelphia prejudice and I’ve pasted it below:
So juicy.
Drunk in Public
Regardless of this fourth larceny charge, Quinton was able to rejoin London in June and would remain with the club until they folded on August 22. He appears to have gone to Albany to close out the season.
He spent 1879 playing in Rochester, seemingly without incident. In April 1880, he was back in Albany, when he was badly lacerated his left hand after he drunkenly plunged it through a pane of glass. This did not deter his playing though, as he rejoined Rochester in June.
In 1881, Quinton returned to Canada to play for the Toronto Maple Leafs. He managed to avoid any larceny charges, but was sent to jail for 10 days in October on a charge of disorderly conduct.
“A Nice Specimen of a Tough”
As 1882 began, Quinton had established that he was a good catcher, but also prone to debauchery and theft. He returned to Philadelphia where he briefly joined the first incarnation of the Philadelphia Phillies in the independent League Alliance and later caught for the Albert Merritt club. In August, Quinton ducked out of a return to Harrisburg where he had enjoyed his first baseball stardom for fear of being arrested on some outstanding warrants.
Quinton joined Trenton for the 1883 season, where he batted a stellar .345 in 57 games. His play was not without incident as his play against a game in Lancaster on October 10 earned the following criticism:
The Harrisburg Telegraph quipped: “By the way, isn’t there a bench warrant in somebody’s hands for Quinton’s arrest.”
In December, it was reported that Quinton had turned his attentions to the art world and was regularly attending art auctions in Trenton with teammate Wash Williams. Quinton was named captain of the Trentons for 1884 and continued his strong play batting .291, but also demonstrated his erratic nature.
Fireworks
On July 4, he nearly came to blows mid-game with his battery mate Con Murphy. After a dispute over in-game strategy, Murphy threw a quick pitch that nearly beaned Quinton, who had yet to put on his mask. Quinton threatened Murphy:
He then refused to catch Murphy, who was replaced on the mound by outfielder Wash Williams. It was debated whether to release Quinton, whose talent was increasingly undermined by his erratic personality and off the field challenges. Quinton was suspended for 30 days on July 10, although he was back in the line-up later that month. One report indicated the suspension was caused by Quinton’s drunkenness.
A Big Leaguer by Default
Quinton would request his release from Trenton in late July and were quickly signed by the Richmond Virginians. On August 1, Quinton made his debut, in an 8 to 4 loss, coincidentally facing his former club. On August 2, the Virginians officially joined the major leagues as they moved from the Eastern League to the American Association to replace the recently folded Washington Statesmen.
Quinton had become a major leaguer by default. One day he was in the Eastern League and the next day he was in the American Association. He would make his debut on August 7 and would remain with the club until the end of the season. He hit a modest .234 in 26 games playing mostly at catcher, but also filling in at shortstop and in the outfield.
Quinton joined the Philadelphia based Quaker City squad for the 1885 season. In late May, he would make his return to the majors, serving as a back up catcher for the Philadelphia Athletics. He would appear in seven games and remain with the Athletics until his release in late June. This would be the end of his major league career, but he continued on to Oswego and later Portland, Maine to finish out the season.
After the spotlight
Quinton would remain in professional baseball until 1890, mostly confined to New York state leagues. He eventually settled in Trenton, site of his greatest baseball triumphs. He continued to pursue baseball opportunities and in 1896, at age 44, he was still playing semi-pro ball with the local Harding squad.
One last caper
On June 25, 1900, the Trenton Evening News reported that Quinton was arrested for theft of 75 dollars worth of copper wire. He had another bizarre run-in with the law on June 5, 1902, when he was arraigned for disorderly conduct after accusing some painters of using gasoline to paint a building.
He died on June 19, 1904 in Trenton after a weeks long bout with pneumonia. His brother John published a memorial in the July 16, 1904 Philadelphia Inquirer that closed with the line:
At last the physical body at rest.
A fitting eulogy for a restless life.
