In the 1939 close season, he signed for Birmingham, newly relegated to the Second Division, but the suspension of competitive football for the duration of the Second World War prevented him proving himself at the higher level.[4] A short, stocky defender, he played more than 100 games for Birmingham in the wartime leagues,[5] but his only appearances in the Football League 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.[6]
After retiring from play, Quinton moved back to Birmingham, where he worked for electrical goods manufacturers Bulpitt & Sons.[8] Quinton died at Sheffield in 1996, aged 78.[1]