Joe Quinn Hall of Fame Profile Spotlight-by Touhoua Yang 2013
Joseph William Quinn II, universally known by pigeon men as Joe Quinn, was born on March 18, 1929, in Ohio. Joe Quinn got his first rollers at age 10 in 1939 and kept them until he passed in 2009. As a young teen, he went around visiting the great roller men of the Canton, Ohio, area and eventually purchased pigeons from Richard Krupke, who was affectionately known in the Ohio area as "Old Man Krupke." That's where he saw his first rolling almonds and his interest was captivated not only by the performance but the color of the rollers Krupke kept. There was only a brief seven-year period when he did not keep rollers due to being drafted into the Army in 1951 where he went on to win numerous military medals. Upon returning from military service, he went to university and got his Bachelor's Degree in 1956. It was shortly thereafter that he was able to get back into rollers. So the man had rollers from age 10 until his untimely death at age 80. But if you want to know what he did in terms of actual flying and competitions, continue reading.
According to Wally Fort, Joe Quinn won more than a few of the individual flys, 11-bird flys, and 20-bird flys in the late '50s and '60s. In fact, here's a little-known and often-forgotten fact: Joe Quinn, along with fellow NBRC Hall of Famer Wally Fort, were on the Canton Ohio Roller Club Committee when they formed the first 11-Bird Fly and Rules in the USA. The first 11-bird fly was formed in 1963. So, the genesis of the 11-bird fly started in Canton with Joe Quinn, et al. During the 1960s, Quinn was the primary judge and awarder of the Best Cock Award, which was given at many of the Akron-Canton pigeon shows as well as at the local and state fairs.
One of the best-known books about pigeons is Quinn’s "Pigeon Breeders Notebook," first published in 1970. Almost all of his findings were based on his individual breeding of Birmingham Rollers. In fact, for his research, he used only wild-type rollers, getting the bulk of them--other than a few pairs of his own--from NBRC Hall of Famer Wally Fort. Wally confirmed that Joe Quinn got 10-11 pairs of pure blue bars from Wally's blue family. Quinn used these and his own birds to get exactly 20 breeding pairs of wild-type rollers. He worked on those 20 pairs exclusively from 1965-1970 recording his findings in what is now known as his "Notebook." Quinn also discovered a new mutation, which is now known as Quinn’s Almond or Qualmond.
In 1983 there was an epidemic of which spread throughout and the National Avian Disease Task Force (NADTF) was created. Quinn was appointed the NADTF Chairman, an esteemed position. The NADTF’s job was to find preventive measures to keep the disease from spreading to the USA as well as vaccines for Newcastle. In addition to the NADTF, Quinn also served as Chairman for both the Avian Disease Research Committee and the American Pigeon Fancier’s Council.
In short, Joe Quinn is arguably one of the most respected pigeon geneticists to have lived. Most of his work in genetics was on rollers. Quinn kept rollers for 70 years, flew in individual, 11-bird, and 20-bird flys locally and was able to take the triple crown in the , Roller Club, winning each of the three different flys at least once. Quinn served in numerous positions for many organizations throughout his lifetime. Joe Quinn is as deserving of the Hall of Fame award as anyone who has been a part of this wonderful hobby of Birmingham Roller pigeons.
I want to thank Ron Huntley, James Turner, Joe Marlett and especially Wally Fort for their contributions to this biography. While this brief profile may not do him justice, I hope it sheds some light on Joe Quinn as a roller man.
Joseph William Quinn II, universally known by pigeon men as Joe Quinn, was born on March 18, 1929, in Ohio. Joe Quinn got his first rollers at age 10 in 1939 and kept them until he passed in 2009. As a young teen, he went around visiting the great roller men of the Canton, Ohio, area and eventually purchased pigeons from Richard Krupke, who was affectionately known in the Ohio area as "Old Man Krupke." That's where he saw his first rolling almonds and his interest was captivated not only by the performance but the color of the rollers Krupke kept. There was only a brief seven-year period when he did not keep rollers due to being drafted into the Army in 1951 where he went on to win numerous military medals. Upon returning from military service, he went to university and got his Bachelor's Degree in 1956. It was shortly thereafter that he was able to get back into rollers. So the man had rollers from age 10 until his untimely death at age 80. But if you want to know what he did in terms of actual flying and competitions, continue reading.
According to Wally Fort, Joe Quinn won more than a few of the individual flys, 11-bird flys, and 20-bird flys in the late '50s and '60s. In fact, here's a little-known and often-forgotten fact: Joe Quinn, along with fellow NBRC Hall of Famer Wally Fort, were on the Canton Ohio Roller Club Committee when they formed the first 11-Bird Fly and Rules in the USA. The first 11-bird fly was formed in 1963. So, the genesis of the 11-bird fly started in Canton with Joe Quinn, et al. During the 1960s, Quinn was the primary judge and awarder of the Best Cock Award, which was given at many of the Akron-Canton pigeon shows as well as at the local and state fairs.
One of the best-known books about pigeons is Quinn’s "Pigeon Breeders Notebook," first published in 1970. Almost all of his findings were based on his individual breeding of Birmingham Rollers. In fact, for his research, he used only wild-type rollers, getting the bulk of them--other than a few pairs of his own--from NBRC Hall of Famer Wally Fort. Wally confirmed that Joe Quinn got 10-11 pairs of pure blue bars from Wally's blue family. Quinn used these and his own birds to get exactly 20 breeding pairs of wild-type rollers. He worked on those 20 pairs exclusively from 1965-1970 recording his findings in what is now known as his "Notebook." Quinn also discovered a new mutation, which is now known as Quinn’s Almond or Qualmond.
In 1983 there was an epidemic of which spread throughout and the National Avian Disease Task Force (NADTF) was created. Quinn was appointed the NADTF Chairman, an esteemed position. The NADTF’s job was to find preventive measures to keep the disease from spreading to the USA as well as vaccines for Newcastle. In addition to the NADTF, Quinn also served as Chairman for both the Avian Disease Research Committee and the American Pigeon Fancier’s Council.
In short, Joe Quinn is arguably one of the most respected pigeon geneticists to have lived. Most of his work in genetics was on rollers. Quinn kept rollers for 70 years, flew in individual, 11-bird, and 20-bird flys locally and was able to take the triple crown in the , Roller Club, winning each of the three different flys at least once. Quinn served in numerous positions for many organizations throughout his lifetime. Joe Quinn is as deserving of the Hall of Fame award as anyone who has been a part of this wonderful hobby of Birmingham Roller pigeons.
I want to thank Ron Huntley, James Turner, Joe Marlett and especially Wally Fort for their contributions to this biography. While this brief profile may not do him justice, I hope it sheds some light on Joe Quinn as a roller man.