Walter Quinton (13 December 1917 – 8 March 1996) was an English professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who made 85 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

playing for Rotherham United,

Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...

Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings whi ...

and Shrewsbury Town.

Career

Quinton was born in

Anston Anston is a civil parish in South Yorkshire, England, formally known as North and South Anston. The parish of Anston consists of the settlements of North Anston and South Anston, divided by the Anston Brook. History Anston, first recorded as ...

, which was then in the

West Riding of Yorkshire The West Riding of Yorkshire is one of three historic subdivisions of Yorkshire, England. From 1889 to 1974 the administrative county County of York, West Riding (the area under the control of West Riding County Council), abbreviated County ...

. He played local football for Dinnington Athletic before joining Rotherham United of the

Football League Third Division North The Third Division North of the Football League was a tier in the English football league system from 1921 to 1958. It ran in parallel with the Third Division South with clubs elected to the League or relegated In sports leagues, promotion and ...

in July 1938. Described as "an accomplished right back", Quinton made his debut on 8 October 1938 and played in every game but one for the rest of the 1938–39 season. In the 1939 close season, he signed for

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, newly relegated to the

Second Division In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...

, but the suspension of competitive football for the duration of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

prevented him proving himself at the higher level. A short, stocky defender, he played more than 100 games for Birmingham in the wartime leagues, but his only appearances in

came as a run of eight games early in the 1947–48 season; Ken Green took over the right-back position as soon as he was demobbed. Together with

Jackie Goodwin John William Goodwin (29 September 1920 – 7 May 1995) was an English professional footballer who scored 30 goals from 163 appearances in the Football League playing for Birmingham City and Brentford. He played as an outside right. Playing c ...

, Quinton joined

in a £7000 deal in April 1949. He had one season in the first team before dropping to the reserves, then, after a trial with Southend United in August 1952, he finished off his league career with a few games for Shrewsbury Town. He later played for Snowdown Colliery Welfare of the Kent League. After retiring from play, Quinton moved back to

, where he worked for electrical goods manufacturers

Bulpitt & Sons Bulpitt & Sons Ltd was an electrical goods manufacturer and limited company in Birmingham, England, established as a brass founder in the late 19th century. In the early 20th century the company registered The "Swan Brand" name. In the 1920s ...

. Quinton died at

Sheffield Sheffield is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in South Yorkshire, England, whose name derives from the River Sheaf which runs through it. The city serves as the administrative centre of the City of Sheffield. It is Historic counties o ...

in 1996, aged 78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinton, Wally 1917 births 1996 deaths Footballers from Rotherham English men's footballers Men's association football fullbacks Dinnington Athletic F.C. players Rotherham United F.C. players Birmingham City F.C. players Brentford F.C. players Shrewsbury Town F.C. players English Football League players Snowdown Colliery Welfare F.C. players Kent Football League (1894–1959) players