Bill Quinby

September 18, 2020

Chandler, Quinby and Corbett at Daniel's Park Bill Quinby Field dedication

Bill Quinby: Growing up Coe

The end of the 1930s marked the beginning of a legend, at least it did for Coe.
You see...you don’t have to be a Coe alum to be a Coe legend.

It was 1938 when 6-year-old, first-grader Bill Quinby and his family moved into a small rented house on 14th Street NE in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The home was equidistant from Daniel’s Park to the north and Coe College to the south. “From left field, go south under the trees,” Quinby described the location. And by left field, he’s referring to the Daniel’s Park baseball diamond where he spent much of his childhood.

If you didn’t find Quinby and his friends at Daniel’s Park, you’d find them at Coe. “I was 6 when my dad first introduced me to Coe. He took me to a football game,” Quinby said with a smile in his voice. “My dad attended Coe for a couple of years in the ’30s but didn’t finish. Times were tough. It was the end of the Great Depression and just before World War II.”

Quinby used to walk by the college on his way to and from school each day. “That began my idea of Coe as a nice place,” Quinby said. To this day, at the age of 88, Quinby still considers this part of Cedar Rapids “his neighborhood” and the best place he ever could have lived. “I was fortunate to be born in Cedar Rapids and fortunate to be raised right next to Coe for 15 years,” Quinby said.

He grew up watching Coe football, baseball and track practices and dreamt of his own future as an athlete. His passion for athletics came from growing up at Coe. As a young man, he made friends with many of the coaching staff, including Moray Eby, Harris Lamb ’27 and Willis Lamb ’27. “They were always nice to young people in the neighborhood, and we hung around Coe a lot,” Quinby said.

“We would even get into a little trouble. ... We would sneak into Eby Fieldhouse and shoot baskets until we got kicked out,” Quinby chuckled.

Quinby graduated from Washington High School, attended college and played football until he sustained a career-ending injury. Fortunately, his love of sports didn’t fade like his days of playing football.

Following college, Quinby began a 20-plus year career as an educator and administrator in the Cedar Rapids School District. In addition to his career in education, Quinby served as a sports official. “I started to officiate football and basketball locally with junior high games,” Quinby remembered. “Then I worked my way up through high school, small Midwest colleges and the Big Ten Conference.”

After over a decade in the Big Ten Conference, Quinby spent close to 20 years officiating for the National Football League (NFL) before being asked to officiate at Super Bowl XIX. “It was the thrill of my officiating career,” Quinby said about the game between the San Francisco 49ers and Miami Dolphins. “It was like almost any other game. I just did my job and hoped I wouldn’t make any mistakes.”

Following his lengthy career in education, Quinby pivoted and entered the field of human resources. After several years, this career change ultimately led him back to Coe as the director of career counseling. And approximately one year into Quinby’s position at Coe, he happily accepted the concurrent position of athletic director.

“My career brought me full circle, right back to my childhood days growing up at Coe,” Quinby said.

After playing at several other locations, Quinby couldn’t have been happier to see Coe baseball move to Daniel’s Park. “Coe did a wonderful remodel of the baseball diamond,” Quinby said. “During the season, the grass needed to be mowed several times a week. When I realized they didn’t have someone to mow, I offered to do it.”

For almost 20 years and multiple times a week during baseball season, Quinby could be found on a riding mower at Daniel’s Park. “It was a bad habit, but I used to like having a cigar,” Quinby said. “People would drive by, see me mowing and thought I looked like a choo choo train. Mowing at Daniel’s Park was one of the great pleasures of my life.”

As recognition and honor of his long-term commitment to both Daniel’s Park and Coe College, head baseball coach and current Director of Athletics and Recreation Steve Cook and then-director of athletics and recreation and current Senior Athletic Trainer John Chandler worked with then-Cedar Rapids Mayor Ron Corbett to officially rename the baseball diamond at Daniel’s Park Bill Quinby Field in April 2016.

“For the past 15 years, Bill has had a special impact on Coe baseball. My favorite is his impact on the players that have come through our program. Many of the players get the opportunity to talk with Bill at the field, after he has finished mowing the grass or when he is sitting on his bench watching practice,” Cook said. “Without even knowing it, those players are learning life lessons through the stories he tells, the advice he gives and the pride he has in their efforts and accomplishments as student-athletes. They are subtly influenced by a man who has given back so much to our college and the city in which he grew up. ”

“Growing up at Daniel’s Park and Coe College molded my life. To be honest, Coe has been such a huge part of my life,” Quinby said. “The friendships I developed with thousands of people over the years, including coaches, faculty, trustees and presidents, made me a better person. And I love Coe for that.”  

Quinby mowed his final season, at the age of 87, at Bill Quinby Field in spring 2019. “It was one of my great pleasures. It was a big deal to me, and it helped Coe,” Quinby said. “I’ve missed it every day since I retired.”

Although Quinby himself is not a Coe grad, his daughter Kathy Quinby-Johnson graduated from Coe in 1981. Throughout the years, Quinby has been honored with several awards through Coe including the Distinguished Service Award and the Roby Kesler Award...but perhaps the greatest honor of all...was growing up Coe.