Minto’s rugby league legend Jarryd Hayne was not the first local sporting talent to seek fame and fortune in America.
Almost 140 years ago a young Campbelltown teenager left for America looking to make it big in baseball.
Joe Quinn did make it big in the land of the Yankees, where baseball is as much the national sport as cricket is for us.
Unfortunately for Quinn, his years in the big time were long before Facebook, Twitter and other social media were invented, so his story is a bit of a mystery Down Under.
But maybe not for much longer.
Later this month the HJ Daley Library in Campbelltown will host author Rochelle Llewelyn Nicholls for a talk about her book, Joe Quinn – Among the Rowdies: The Life of Baseball’s Honest Australian.
Rochelle will delve into the fascinating life of Joe Quinn, the great but forgotten Australian sporting pioneer, who was celebrated in American major league baseball during the 1870s.
Born in Queensland, Quinn grew up in Campbelltown, but until now his story has been lost in the country of his birth.
During 17 seasons in the major leagues, “Undertaker’’ Joe Quinn earned his place among the colourful characters that pioneered the modern game of baseball.
In an era where baseball players were renowned for cheating, fighting and gambling, Quinn was the quintessential good bloke and the American public loved him for it.
He was named “Most Popular Player in Baseball” in 1893.
It was the rural landscape of Campbelltown that shaped Joe Quinn’s childhood, although the exact details of the Quinns’ lives in the area are a mystery, says Paul Lake, the current mayor of Campbelltown.
“That he left Campbelltown for the United States as a teenager and carved a reputation on one of the most competitive sporting stages in the world is tribute to his willingness to have a go in the great Australian tradition,’’ Cr Lake said.
“It has earned him the admiration of sports fans on both sides of the Pacific.
“I’m sure Campbelltown residents will enjoy hearing the story of one of their own who made it big,” Cr Lake said.
WHO: Author Rochelle Llewelyn Nicholls
WHAT: Talking about her book, Joe Quinn – Among the Rowdies: The Life of Baseball’s Honest Australian.
WHEN: Thursday, July 30 at 1pm.
WHERE: HJ Daley Library, Campbelltown
BOOKINGS: essential – phone 4645 4436.
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