Towson University Athletics

A three-sport letter winner in basketball, baseball and soccer, Quinton “Q.D.” Thompson returned many years after his graduation from the State Teachers College to continue his involvement in the Towson University community as a fundraiser.

Q.D. was a member of the first Towson teams to compete in the Mason-Dixon Conference. In 1940 the then Golden Knights tied for the Maryland State Soccer Championship. He was part of a 12-year era in men’s soccer where Towson posted an 88-12-13 record.

Like many Towson graduates of the day Q.D. pursued a career in education after earning a bachelor’s degree in elementary education in 1942. Before he entered the classroom, however, he enlisted in the Navy and was assigned as a communication coding officer aboard the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise in the Pacific. In 1947 he joined the faculty at The McDonogh School teaching fifth and sixth grades until 1950 when he was recalled to active duty during the Korean War.

In 1953 Q.D. became head of McDonogh’s Middle School – the first in the nation. He held the position for 32 years until his retirement in 1985. In his retirement Q.D. fundraised for Towson University and endowed a scholarship in his name in the college of education. In 1981 Q.D. was honored by the university as a Distinguished Alumni Award recipient. That same year he was presented with McDonogh’s Distinguished Service Award and was made an honorary alumnus. Q.D. passed away in 2017 at age 95.