He was a Parade All-America quarterback at St. Paul High School in Santa Fe Springs, California where, upon graduation, he was offered a four-year football scholarship to the University of Notre Dame.

[3] Quirk played for the Kansas City Royals, Milwaukee Brewers, St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics, Cleveland Indians and Baltimore Orioles in a career that spanned the years 1975–1992.

On September 27, 1984, Quirk hit a game-winning home run in the bottom of the ninth inning for the Cleveland Indians in a game against the Minnesota Twins.

But the home run was crucial for Quirk's former team of seven years, the Kansas City Royals, which was in a tight race with the Twins for the American League West division crown.

[5] From 2010 to 2011, Quirk served as bullpen coach for the Houston Astros under manager Brad Mills.