Lawrence’s world champion football player Billy Quinlan left us this past week but he will never be gone because there are so many memories that he shared with us.
Where does one begin when you are talking greatness?
Please try to bear with this writer about probably the city’s greatest professional athlete.
Before he hit the big leagues like Staunton Military Academy, Michigan State and the Rose Bowl and later the Hamilton Tiger Cats in Canada the long trip started at Lawrence High School as a 3 sport standout. He was a better than average catcher in baseball and a really good hoopster but his future would be on the gridiron for the blue and white. He played center on offense and linebacker on defense.
I didn’t know him in those days but knew of him. I’d see him at what is now church but was then the recreation bowling and pool center. You know that he was an excellent player in both those sports and one time when he was on vacation from school I watched him bowl all afternoon against his good friend Bob Ryan.
I know there was some money involved but didn’t know how much. I remember it keenly because he had been away at Staunton and when he left for that school he probably weighed 180 pounds. When he walked into the bowling alley he was wearing a huge 10 gallon cowboy hat and high heeled cowboy boots, to me he looked like the biggest man I’d ever seen.
Really followed his career and somewhere along the line I got to know him slightly.
He played 1 year in Canada and in those days their league was on TV every Saturday.
On this day I decided to watch and a fight broke out in the stands and guess was in the middle yep, Bashful Bill.
While on the subject of fighting, I like to have a nickle for every one of the jerks who felt they wanted to take on Big Bill. It was like the fastest gun in the west always being challenged. I’ve seen it happen many times as Bill would begin popping a drink or two when someone would come to him and challenge him. This story is true so help me God, I’m in the old wonder bar on the corner of Lowell St. and Broadway and so is Bill and he is having a pop and minding his business.
A Lawrence cop off duty comes to me and says, “Benj I need a favor; you can help me.” I say, “OK.”
This cop says, “Here, hold this for me” and he hands me his service revolver. He says, “Hold this for me because I’m going to punch out Quinlan.” I told him to leave him alone because he’s not bothering anyone. My plea falls on deaf ears and he proceeds to confront Bill, and here’s Frankie standing and shaking with a gun in my pants pocket. Well the cop talks Bill to go outside with him and they leave out the back door into the alley. The cop is first out the door and as Bill is coming out the cop hits him with a sucker shot and Bill goes down. It’s not over though as Quinlan grabs the cop’s leg and is proceeding to stick it where the sun would never shine. A cruiser is going by and stops the action and this writer thinks they probably saved their fellow officer a bad beating. They also took the gun away from me, much to my relief.
I tell this story because I saw firsthand how jerks wanted to test him.
I want to switch gears and let some of you who’ve heard some bizarre stories about my friend a statement I make with great pride.
He and his high school sweetheart Betty Thornton still lived in South Lawrence. She is a retired nurse and was at her nursing best as her guy was fighting this battle he couldn’t win. A few years ago Bill had a throat problem – a serious problem. He made a pact with God to stop smoking and drinking and kept his word.
His doctor in Boston was one of the world’s greatest cancer doctors and getting a visit with him was almost impossible to get. Well, he and Bill hit it off and Bill could walk in on this doctor any time he wanted. Over the years he has taken many people to this doctor and has driven these people into Boston.
As a matter of fact I delivered a picture to his friend George that will be on the wall at Heav’nly Doughnuts and George told me that Bill had taken him to that doctor in Boston. The last time I saw Bill was at the doughnut shop with Betty and he right away assumed a boxer’s stance towards me.
He has been on my radio show many times and he has so many stories and when you think of the athletes he performed with, names that we have only read about.
There are so many stories he would share when he was in the mood to talk.
His buddies from the city, Bill Foley, Gene McCarthy, Vinnie Leone, George Kara, the Sheehan Family who shared so many good times with the Quinlans both at Salisbury and at Sheehan’s Towing.
There is not enough room in one edition of Rumbo so I promise to follow up in the future with stuff that will break you up.
I wish I could articulate how much his relationship meant, why he even came to my induction to the Methuen Hall of Fame.
I already miss him and when he meets God he’ll probably will assume the boxing stance and he buddies will be waiting with open arms.
Thank you for letting be your friend and I’ll still keep you in my prayers every night.
