Born in Omaha, Nebraska, McGinn was a multi-sport athlete at Omaha Cathedral High School, excelling in football, baseball, and basketball. In 1962, he quarterbacked the football team and later won the MVP award at the Nebraska high school all-star game. McGinn signed a letter of intent to play for the University of Nebraska under legendary coach Bob Devaney, but instead decided to attend the University of Notre Dame. His playing time at quarterback was limited, however, because he played behind John Huarte, who won the Heisman Trophy in 1964; during his time with the Fighting Irish, McGinn also spent time at punter, split end, running back, and defensive back.\n', '

McGinn also played baseball at Notre Dame, striking out 105 batters in 74 innings his junior year in 1965 -- as of 2019, still a school record for most strikeouts per nine innings (12.66). The St. Louis Cardinals picked him in the first-ever amateur draft, but Dan chose to stay in school, getting his bachelor’s degree in communication arts. In 1966, the Cincinnati Reds took him in the first round (10th overall pick), and he reported to Knoxville of the Double-A Southern League.\n', '

After struggling his first two years as a starting pitcher in the minors, McGinn found his stride as a reliever in 1968. “Sparky Anderson [was] my manager and at the beginning of the year he said to me that Cincinnati is loaded with left-handed starters, but they need a left-handed reliever, so let’s make you a reliever,” he recalled. McGinn was called up to the big club on September 3, 1968, debuted as a pinch runner, then came in to pitch against the eventual champion Cardinals; he walked two batters and was tagged with the loss. McGinn got into 14 games with the Reds that year, going 0-1 with a 5.25 ERA.\n', '

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