Haywood Sullivan
Encyclopedia
Haywood Cooper Sullivan (December 15, 1930 – February 12, 2003) was an American college and professional baseball
player who was a catcher
, manager
, general manager
and club owner in Major League Baseball
. From 1978 through 1993, he was a general partner
in the Boston Red Sox
, where he reportedly parlayed a $200,000 investment into a $33 million cash out.
, and raised in Dothan, Alabama
. He received an athletic scholarship
to attend the University of Florida
in Gainesville, Florida
, where he was the starting
quarterback
for coach Bob Woodruff's Florida Gators football
team in 1950 and 1951, and a standout catcher for coach Dave Fuller
's Gators baseball
team in 1951 and 1952. In his two seasons as the Gators' quarterback, Sullivan threw for 2,016 yards in an era when the emphasis was on a running offense. As a Gators baseball player, he was named to the All-Southeastern Conference
(SEC) team in 1952. He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6'4" (1.93 m) tall and weighed 215 pounds (98 kg). Sullivan signed a guaranteed $45,000 bonus contract with the Boston Red Sox in 1952, a contract that would not have been available in another year under pending baseball rules changes, and thereby ended his college football and baseball career after his junior
year.
for its first eight seasons. Finally, in , he made the big leagues as Boston's second-string catcher (mainly playing behind Russ Nixon
). But he batted
only .161 and was left exposed in the 1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft. The new Washington Senators
franchise picked him up, then traded him to the Kansas City Athletics
for pitcher
Marty Kutyna
in December 1960.
Sullivan played for 2½ seasons with the A's, and was the club's semi-regular catcher in 1961
and 1962
. For his MLB career, Sullivan batted .226 with 13 home run
s in 312 games over all or parts of seven seasons.
In 1964, Sullivan was named manager of the Athletics' Birmingham Barons
farm club in the AA Southern League
. His team just missed the pennant, by one game, earning him a promotion to the AAA Vancouver Mounties
of the Pacific Coast League
in 1965. But after only 25 games in Vancouver, Sullivan was called up to manage the A's on May 16, 1965, succeeding Mel McGaha
. At age 34, Sullivan was the youngest manager in Major League Baseball that season
. Kansas City had lost 21 of its first 26 games and was lodged in last place in the ten-team American League
when McGaha was fired, and they remained in the cellar for the rest of the 1965 season
, winning 54 and losing 82 (.397) under Sullivan.
. As vice president, player personnel, Sullivan was positioned as the top "baseball man" in the organization, and from 1965-67 was instrumental in acquiring several players from the Athletics (such as José Santiago, John Wyatt, José Tartabull
and Ken Harrelson
) who would help lead Boston to its surprise 1967 AL pennant
. But O'Connell gradually assumed more power and took over most of Sullivan's responsibilities; during the early 1970s, Sullivan kept his title but in reality became the Red Sox' director of amateur scouting.
Despite his decline in overall authority, Sullivan maintained very close personal ties with owner Tom Yawkey
and his wife, Jean
. In 1977, a year after Tom Yawkey died of leukemia
, the Red Sox were put up for sale. Sullivan — reportedly borrowing $100,000 and using his home as collateral — joined an ownership group organized by former Red Sox athletic trainer
Edward "Buddy" LeRoux. Because of Sullivan's close friendship with Jean Yawkey, the LeRoux offer was accepted, even though it was not the highest bid and the group did not have the financial resources of some of its rivals. The American League initially rejected the deal, but reconsidered when Mrs. Yawkey joined the group as a third general partner in 1978.
Before the sale was consummated, in October 1977, Mrs. Yawkey fired O'Connell and promoted Sullivan to general manager. Overall, his first off-season as GM of the Red Sox was highly successful. Still using the resources of the Yawkey fortune, and benefitting from the depth of the Red Sox farm system that he helped to build, Sullivan acquired players such as Mike Torrez
, Jerry Remy
, Dick Drago
, Tom Burgmeier
and Dennis Eckersley
. Buoyed by the new additions to an already strong team, the Red Sox charged into first place in the 1978 AL East race. The Red Sox would lose a 14½ game lead over the New York Yankees
and a one-game playoff that season. Although manager Don Zimmer
is usually cast as the chief culprit for the collapse, Sullivan contributed to the debacle by dealing away useful players such as Bernie Carbo
, Ferguson Jenkins
, Jim Willoughby
and Reggie Cleveland
, who were considered to be "clubhouse lawyers." None of the players fetched comparable value, and the loss of pitching and bench strength was a critical factor in Boston's struggles.
after the 1978 season when he allowed legendary pitcher Luis Tiant
to leave for the Yankees as a free agent
and, as he had done with Jenkins, Carbo and the others, dumped a clubhouse dissident, lefty pitcher Bill Lee
, in a giveaway trade—in this case, to the Montreal Expos
. In 1979, he raised eyebrows when he selected his son Marc Sullivan
, who was not considered to have early-round talent, in the second round of baseball's amateur draft; the younger Sullivan would bat a paltry .186 in parts of five major league seasons.
In December 1980, Sullivan faced the imminent free agency of Rick Burleson
, Carlton Fisk
and Fred Lynn
—Boston's starting shortstop
, catcher and center fielder
, and thus the "up the middle" core of the ball club. The three players, represented by agent Jeremy Kapstein, had been embroiled in a contract dispute with the team in , the first year of free agency, and hard feelings still lingered between them, Sullivan and Mrs. Yawkey. Sullivan was able to trade Burleson for value (young third baseman
Carney Lansford
), but then failed to mail contract offers to Lynn and Fisk by MLB's mandated deadline, unintentionally speeding their free agency. Sullivan was forced to accept fifty cents on the dollar for Lynn in a trade to the California Angels
, and then lost Fisk outright when he was declared a free agent.
From then on, Sullivan's reputation in Boston was tarnished. He refused to enter the market for free agents, preferring to rely exclusively on player development, but the Boston farm system hit a dry spell resulting from poor drafts during Sullivan's tenure as GM; whereas O'Connell in 1976 alone had drafted Wade Boggs
, John Tudor, and Bruce Hurst
, the only starting player drafted and signed by the Red Sox between 1977 and 1979 was Marty Barrett. The Red Sox were also ridiculed for stinginess and ineptitude, with one sportswriter claiming that the team motto should have been "don't just do something; stand there!" The contending Bosox of the late 1970s were reduced to also-rans.
Sullivan's legacy received another battering in 1983 when a long-simmering estrangement from LeRoux became embarrassingly public. On June 6, just prior to a ceremony celebrating the Red Sox' 1967 AL champions, and raising money to care for stricken former outfielder
Tony Conigliaro
, LeRoux called a press conference to reveal that he and his limited partners had exercised a contract clause and taken control of the Red Sox. He fired Sullivan on the spot, and restored O'Connell—who hadn't set foot in Fenway Park
since his dismissal in 1977—to the GM post. Boston called it "the Coup LeRoux." Sullivan and Mrs. Yawkey then immediately called their own press conference to announce they had filed suit to prevent the takeover. A court granted them an injunction, and in a public 1984 trial that aired dirty laundry on both sides, Sullivan and Yawkey won the day again. LeRoux was eventually bought out and Jean Yawkey became the majority general partner.
in June 1984, immediately after the court victory over LeRoux, and became the team's chief executive and chief operating officer. Gorman received credit for trades that helped the 1986 Red Sox win the AL championship, although Sullivan's determination to build from within helped to furnish the club with many of its key players.
During Sullivan's tenure as general manager and top executive, the Red Sox, with their history as the last pre-expansion MLB team to break the color line
, were again criticized for institutional racism. Fans and media noted the Red Sox' relative lack of African-American and Latin-American players. In a 1985 public relations disaster, the team was sued by former outfielder
and coach
Tommy Harper
, an African-American. Harper was fired as a minor league base-running instructor after he complained to the media about the club's practice of allowing the all-white Elks Club
of Winter Haven, Florida
(where the team held spring training
), into the Red Sox clubhouse to invite white players and front-office personnel to the Elks' segregated facilities. Harper's complaint was upheld by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on July 1, 1986. (Moreover, the city of Boston itself was painted as racist after the violence surrounding its school desegregation of the 1970s and incidents such as the Charles Stuart
affair in the late 1980s.) When the Red Sox re-entered the free agent market late in the 1980s, they were able to sign All-Star catcher Tony Peña
, but many nonwhite players ignored the Red Sox in free agency, or included them on their "no trade" lists. This trend began to change when the Red Sox bid aggressively (but unsuccessfully) for Kirby Puckett
after the 1991 season.
After 1986 and LeRoux' exit, Sullivan and Mrs. Yawkey grew distant, and, although he still held a general partnership in the team, by the late 1980s Sullivan was consistently outvoted 2-1 by Mrs. Yawkey's two general partnership shares. (Sullivan's title of CEO/COO, meanwhile, quietly was removed from the team's masthead.) When Mrs. Yawkey died in 1992, Sullivan and her representative, John Harrington
, who headed the JRY Trust
, each vowed to buy the other out. In November 1993, Harrington made good his word, acquiring Sullivan's share in the team for a reported $33 million.
Fay Vincent
) as a potential part-owner of another major league club. When he died at age 72 in Fort Myers, Florida
, in February 2003 after suffering a stroke
, Boston baseball observers such as Peter Gammons
took a fresh view of Sullivan's impact on the Red Sox and gave him renewed credit for building the team into contenders, and keeping them there, from 1966 forward.
He was named to the team's Hall of Fame
in 2004.
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
player who was a catcher
Catcher
Catcher is a position for a baseball or softball player. When a batter takes his turn to hit, the catcher crouches behind home plate, in front of the umpire, and receives the ball from the pitcher. This is a catcher's primary duty, but he is also called upon to master many other skills in order to...
, manager
Manager (baseball)
In baseball, the field manager is an individual who is responsible for matters of team strategy on the field and team leadership. Managers are typically assisted by between one and six assistant coaches, whose responsibilities are specialized...
, general manager
General manager
General manager is a descriptive term for certain executives in a business operation. It is also a formal title held by some business executives, most commonly in the hospitality industry.-Generic usage:...
and club owner in Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
. From 1978 through 1993, he was a general partner
General partnership
In the commercial and legal parlance of most countries, a general partnership or simply a partnership, refers to an association of persons or an unincorporated company with the following major features:...
in the Boston Red Sox
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
, where he reportedly parlayed a $200,000 investment into a $33 million cash out.
Early years
Sullivan was born in Donalsonville, GeorgiaDonalsonville, Georgia
Donalsonville is a city in Seminole County, Georgia, United States. The population was 2,796 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Seminole County.-History:...
, and raised in Dothan, Alabama
Dothan, Alabama
Dothan is a city located in the southeastern corner of the US state of Alabama, situated approximately west of the Georgia state line and north of Florida. It is the seat of Houston County, with portions extending into nearby Dale County and Henry County...
. He received an athletic scholarship
Athletic scholarship
An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport...
to attend the University of Florida
University of Florida
The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...
in Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Gainesville is the largest city in, and the county seat of, Alachua County, Florida, United States as well as the principal city of the Gainesville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area . The preliminary 2010 Census population count for Gainesville is 124,354. Gainesville is home to the sixth...
, where he was the starting
Starting lineup
A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...
quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
for coach Bob Woodruff's Florida Gators football
Florida Gators football
The Florida Gators football team represents the University of Florida in the sport of American football. The Florida Gators compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision of the National Collegiate Athletics Association and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference...
team in 1950 and 1951, and a standout catcher for coach Dave Fuller
Dave Fuller
Dave Fuller was an American college baseball coach who led the Florida Gators baseball team of the University of Florida for twenty-eight seasons.- Early life and education :...
's Gators baseball
Florida Gators baseball
The Florida Gators baseball team represents the University of Florida in the sport of baseball. The Florida Gators compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletics Association , and the Eastern Division of the Southeastern Conference . They play their home games in Alfred A...
team in 1951 and 1952. In his two seasons as the Gators' quarterback, Sullivan threw for 2,016 yards in an era when the emphasis was on a running offense. As a Gators baseball player, he was named to the All-Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...
(SEC) team in 1952. He threw and batted right-handed, stood 6'4" (1.93 m) tall and weighed 215 pounds (98 kg). Sullivan signed a guaranteed $45,000 bonus contract with the Boston Red Sox in 1952, a contract that would not have been available in another year under pending baseball rules changes, and thereby ended his college football and baseball career after his junior
Junior (education)
"Junior" is a term used in the United States to describe a student in their 3rd year of study . A Junior is considered an upperclassman...
year.
MLB catcher and manager
Sullivan's professional baseball playing career—derailed by military service (causing him to miss the 1953 and 1954 seasons) and back surgery that cost him the entire 1958 campaign—was largely confined to the minor leaguesMinor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
for its first eight seasons. Finally, in , he made the big leagues as Boston's second-string catcher (mainly playing behind Russ Nixon
Russ Nixon
Russell Eugene Nixon is a former catcher, coach and manager in American Major League Baseball. A veteran of 55 years in professional baseball, Nixon has managed at virtually every level of the sport, from the lowest minor league to MLB assignments with the Cincinnati Reds and Atlanta Braves...
). But he batted
Batting average
Batting average is a statistic in both cricket and baseball that measures the performance of cricket batsmen and baseball hitters. The two statistics are related in that baseball averages are directly descended from the concept of cricket averages.- Cricket :...
only .161 and was left exposed in the 1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft. The new Washington Senators
Texas Rangers (baseball)
The Texas Rangers are a professional baseball team in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, based in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League, and are the reigning A.L. Western Division and A.L. Champions. Since , the Rangers have...
franchise picked him up, then traded him to the Kansas City Athletics
Oakland Athletics
The Oakland Athletics are a Major League Baseball team based in Oakland, California. The Athletics are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. From to the present, the Athletics have played in the O.co Coliseum....
for pitcher
Pitcher
In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the...
Marty Kutyna
Marty Kutyna
Marion John "Marty" Kutyna is an American former right-handed pitcher in professional baseball. Kutyna spent three full seasons in Major League Baseball, pitching almost exclusively in relief...
in December 1960.
Sullivan played for 2½ seasons with the A's, and was the club's semi-regular catcher in 1961
1961 Kansas City Athletics season
The Kansas City Athletics season was a season in American baseball. The A's finished with a record of 61–100, tying the expansion Washington Senators for ninth place, last in the newly-expanded 10-team American League.- Offseason :...
and 1962
1962 Kansas City Athletics season
The Kansas City Athletics season was a season in American baseball. It involved the Athletics finishing ninth in the American League with a record of 72 wins and 90 losses. The A's were last in the American League in paid attendance....
. For his MLB career, Sullivan batted .226 with 13 home run
Home run
In baseball, a home run is scored when the ball is hit in such a way that the batter is able to reach home safely in one play without any errors being committed by the defensive team in the process...
s in 312 games over all or parts of seven seasons.
In 1964, Sullivan was named manager of the Athletics' Birmingham Barons
Birmingham Barons
The Birmingham Barons are a minor league baseball team based in Birmingham, Alabama. The team, which plays in the Southern League, is the Double-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox major-league club....
farm club in the AA Southern League
Southern League (baseball)
The Southern League is a minor league baseball league which operates in the Southern United States. It is classified a Double-A league. The original league was formed in , and shut down in . A new league, the Southern Association, was formed in , consisting of twelve teams...
. His team just missed the pennant, by one game, earning him a promotion to the AAA Vancouver Mounties
Vancouver Mounties
The Vancouver Mounties were a high-level minor league baseball club based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Mounties played in the Pacific Coast League from 1956 through 1962 as the relocated Oakland Oaks franchise, and from 1965 through 1969 when the Dallas Rangers moved back to Canada.The...
of the Pacific Coast League
Pacific Coast League
The Pacific Coast League is a minor-league baseball league operating in the Western, Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Along with the International League and the Mexican League, it is one of three leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one step below Major League Baseball.The...
in 1965. But after only 25 games in Vancouver, Sullivan was called up to manage the A's on May 16, 1965, succeeding Mel McGaha
Mel McGaha
Fred Melvin McGaha , pronounced "mc-gay-hay", was an American coach and manager in Major League Baseball as well as a professional basketball player. He was born in Bastrop, Louisiana....
. At age 34, Sullivan was the youngest manager in Major League Baseball that season
1965 in baseball
-Major League Baseball:*World Series: Los Angeles Dodgers over Minnesota Twins ; Sandy Koufax, MVP*All-Star Game, July 13 at Metropolitan Stadium: National League, 6-5; Juan Marichal, MVP-Other champions:*College World Series: Arizona State...
. Kansas City had lost 21 of its first 26 games and was lodged in last place in the ten-team American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
when McGaha was fired, and they remained in the cellar for the rest of the 1965 season
1965 Kansas City Athletics season
The Kansas City Athletics season involved the A's finishing 10th in the American League with a record of 59 wins and 103 losses. The paid attendance for the season was 528,344, the lowest in the major leagues...
, winning 54 and losing 82 (.397) under Sullivan.
Front office and ownership career
In November 1965, he was recruited by the Red Sox, who had reorganized their front office under new general manager Dick O'ConnellDick O'Connell
Richard Henry O'Connell was an American front office executive in Major League Baseball. He was executive vice president of the Boston Red Sox from 1961 through 1977 and served as general manager of the team from September 16, 1965, through October 24, 1977, a period during which he played a...
. As vice president, player personnel, Sullivan was positioned as the top "baseball man" in the organization, and from 1965-67 was instrumental in acquiring several players from the Athletics (such as José Santiago, John Wyatt, José Tartabull
José Tartabull
José Milages Tartabull Guzmán is a retired Major League Baseball outfielder; his Major League career lasted nine years, from 1962 to 1970...
and Ken Harrelson
Ken Harrelson
Kenneth Smith Harrelson , nicknamed "The Hawk" due to his distinctive profile, is a former All-Star first baseman and outfielder in Major League Baseball...
) who would help lead Boston to its surprise 1967 AL pennant
1967 Boston Red Sox season
The Boston Red Sox season, often referred to as The Impossible Dream, consisted of the Red Sox shocking New England and the rest of the baseball world by winning the American League Championship and reaching the World Series for the first time since 1946...
. But O'Connell gradually assumed more power and took over most of Sullivan's responsibilities; during the early 1970s, Sullivan kept his title but in reality became the Red Sox' director of amateur scouting.
Despite his decline in overall authority, Sullivan maintained very close personal ties with owner Tom Yawkey
Tom Yawkey
Thomas Austin Yawkey, born Thomas Austin , was an American industrialist and Major League Baseball executive. Born in Detroit, Michigan, Yawkey became president of the Boston Red Sox in 1933, and was the sole owner of the team for 44 seasons, longer than anyone else in baseball history.-Early...
and his wife, Jean
Jean R. Yawkey
Jean Remington Yawkey was the wife of Tom Yawkey and owner of the Boston Red Sox from 1976 to her death in 1992....
. In 1977, a year after Tom Yawkey died of leukemia
Leukemia
Leukemia or leukaemia is a type of cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase of immature white blood cells called "blasts". Leukemia is a broad term covering a spectrum of diseases...
, the Red Sox were put up for sale. Sullivan — reportedly borrowing $100,000 and using his home as collateral — joined an ownership group organized by former Red Sox athletic trainer
Athletic trainer
An athletic trainer is a certified, health care professional who practices in the field of sports medicine. Athletic training has been recognized by the American Medical Association as an allied health care profession since 1990....
Edward "Buddy" LeRoux. Because of Sullivan's close friendship with Jean Yawkey, the LeRoux offer was accepted, even though it was not the highest bid and the group did not have the financial resources of some of its rivals. The American League initially rejected the deal, but reconsidered when Mrs. Yawkey joined the group as a third general partner in 1978.
Before the sale was consummated, in October 1977, Mrs. Yawkey fired O'Connell and promoted Sullivan to general manager. Overall, his first off-season as GM of the Red Sox was highly successful. Still using the resources of the Yawkey fortune, and benefitting from the depth of the Red Sox farm system that he helped to build, Sullivan acquired players such as Mike Torrez
Mike Torrez
Michael Augustine Torrez is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball.-Career:Torrez had an 18-year career from 1967 to 1984. He played for the St...
, Jerry Remy
Jerry Remy
Gerald Peter "Rem Dawg" Remy is a Major League Baseball broadcaster and former Major League Baseball second baseman. Remy grew up in Somerset, Massachusetts.-Playing career:...
, Dick Drago
Dick Drago
Richard Anthony "Dick" Drago is a former American League relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Kansas City Royals , Boston Red Sox , California Angels , Baltimore Orioles and Seattle Mariners...
, Tom Burgmeier
Tom Burgmeier
Thomas Henry Burgmeier is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for the California Angels, Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox and Oakland A's from 1968 to 1984...
and Dennis Eckersley
Dennis Eckersley
Dennis Lee Eckersley , nicknamed "Eck", is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. Eckersley had success as a starter, but gained his greatest fame as a closer, becoming the first of only two pitchers in Major League history to have both a 20-win season and a 50-save season in a career .He...
. Buoyed by the new additions to an already strong team, the Red Sox charged into first place in the 1978 AL East race. The Red Sox would lose a 14½ game lead over the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...
and a one-game playoff that season. Although manager Don Zimmer
Don Zimmer
Donald William "Popeye" Zimmer is a former infielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball, currently serving as a senior advisor to the Tampa Bay Rays baseball organization...
is usually cast as the chief culprit for the collapse, Sullivan contributed to the debacle by dealing away useful players such as Bernie Carbo
Bernie Carbo
Bernardo 'Bernie' Carbo is a former outfielder and designated hitter who played from through for the Cincinnati Reds , St. Louis Cardinals , Boston Red Sox , Milwaukee Brewers , Cleveland Indians and Pittsburgh Pirates . He batted left-handed and threw right-handed...
, Ferguson Jenkins
Ferguson Jenkins
Ferguson Arthur "Fergie" Jenkins, CM, is a Canadian former Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher. He was a three-time All-Star and the 1971 NL Cy Young Award winner. In 1991, Jenkins was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. During a 19-year career, he pitched for four different teams,...
, Jim Willoughby
Jim Willoughby
James Arthur Willoughby is a former relief pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the San Francisco Giants , Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox...
and Reggie Cleveland
Reggie Cleveland
Reginald Leslie "Reggie" Cleveland is a former Major League Baseball pitcher.Cleveland was born in Swift Current, Saskatchewan. He played for the St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Texas Rangers and Milwaukee Brewers. He ended his career with 105 wins, with a 3.73 ERA and 930 strikeouts. Reggie...
, who were considered to be "clubhouse lawyers." None of the players fetched comparable value, and the loss of pitching and bench strength was a critical factor in Boston's struggles.
Post-1978 decline and the "Coup LeRoux"
Sullivan further endured the wrath of Red Sox NationRed Sox Nation
Red Sox Nation refers to the fans of the Boston Red Sox. The phrase "Red Sox Nation" was first coined by Boston Globe feature writer Nathan Cobb in an October 20, 1986, article about split allegiances among fans in Connecticut during the 1986 World Series between the Red Sox and the New York...
after the 1978 season when he allowed legendary pitcher Luis Tiant
Luis Tiant
Luis Clemente Tiant Vega , born November 23, 1940 in Marianao, Cuba, , is a former right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball who played for the Cleveland Indians , Minnesota Twins , Boston Red Sox , New York Yankees , Pittsburgh Pirates and California Angels...
to leave for the Yankees as a free agent
Free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player whose contract with a team has expired and who is thus eligible to sign with another club or franchise....
and, as he had done with Jenkins, Carbo and the others, dumped a clubhouse dissident, lefty pitcher Bill Lee
Bill Lee (left-handed pitcher)
William Francis Lee III , nicknamed "Spaceman", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher. He played for the Boston Red Sox from - and the Montreal Expos from -...
, in a giveaway trade—in this case, to the Montreal Expos
Montreal Expos
The Montreal Expos were a Major League Baseball team located in Montreal, Quebec from 1969 through 2004, holding the first MLB franchise awarded outside the United States. After the 2004 season, MLB moved the Expos to Washington, D.C. and renamed them the Nationals.Named after the Expo 67 World's...
. In 1979, he raised eyebrows when he selected his son Marc Sullivan
Marc Sullivan
Marc Cooper Sullivan is an American former college and professional baseball player. Sullivan was a catcher who played for five Major League Baseball seasons with the Boston Red Sox....
, who was not considered to have early-round talent, in the second round of baseball's amateur draft; the younger Sullivan would bat a paltry .186 in parts of five major league seasons.
In December 1980, Sullivan faced the imminent free agency of Rick Burleson
Rick Burleson
Richard Paul Burleson is a former Major League Baseball shortstop. "Rooster," as he was nicknamed was a famously intense ballplayer...
, Carlton Fisk
Carlton Fisk
Carlton Ernest Fisk , nicknamed "Pudge" or "The Commander", is a former Major League Baseball catcher. During a 24-year baseball career, he played for both the Boston Red Sox and Chicago White Sox .Fisk was known by the nickname "Pudge" due to his 6'2", 220 lb frame...
and Fred Lynn
Fred Lynn
Fredric Michael "Fred" Lynn is a former center fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the Boston Red Sox , California Angels , Baltimore Orioles , Detroit Tigers and San Diego Padres .Fred Lynn was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in and to the College Baseball Hall of Fame...
—Boston's starting shortstop
Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball fielding position between second and third base. Shortstop is often regarded as the most dynamic defensive position in baseball, because there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the...
, catcher and center fielder
Center fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball fielding position between left field and right field...
, and thus the "up the middle" core of the ball club. The three players, represented by agent Jeremy Kapstein, had been embroiled in a contract dispute with the team in , the first year of free agency, and hard feelings still lingered between them, Sullivan and Mrs. Yawkey. Sullivan was able to trade Burleson for value (young third baseman
Third baseman
A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run...
Carney Lansford
Carney Lansford
Carney Ray Lansford is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball and the hitting coach of the Colorado Rockies...
), but then failed to mail contract offers to Lynn and Fisk by MLB's mandated deadline, unintentionally speeding their free agency. Sullivan was forced to accept fifty cents on the dollar for Lynn in a trade to the California Angels
Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
, and then lost Fisk outright when he was declared a free agent.
From then on, Sullivan's reputation in Boston was tarnished. He refused to enter the market for free agents, preferring to rely exclusively on player development, but the Boston farm system hit a dry spell resulting from poor drafts during Sullivan's tenure as GM; whereas O'Connell in 1976 alone had drafted Wade Boggs
Wade Boggs
Wade Anthony Boggs is an American former professional baseball third baseman. He spent his 18-year baseball career primarily with the Boston Red Sox, but also played for the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Devil Rays...
, John Tudor, and Bruce Hurst
Bruce Hurst
Bruce Vee Hurst is a former Major League Baseball left-handed starting pitcher. He is best remembered for his brilliant performance for the Boston Red Sox in the postseason. He was even named World Series M.V.P...
, the only starting player drafted and signed by the Red Sox between 1977 and 1979 was Marty Barrett. The Red Sox were also ridiculed for stinginess and ineptitude, with one sportswriter claiming that the team motto should have been "don't just do something; stand there!" The contending Bosox of the late 1970s were reduced to also-rans.
Sullivan's legacy received another battering in 1983 when a long-simmering estrangement from LeRoux became embarrassingly public. On June 6, just prior to a ceremony celebrating the Red Sox' 1967 AL champions, and raising money to care for stricken former outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
Tony Conigliaro
Tony Conigliaro
Anthony Richard Conigliaro , nicknamed "Tony C" and "Conig", was a Major League Baseball outfielder and right-handed batter who played for the Boston Red Sox and California Angels . He was born in Revere, Massachusetts, and was a 1962 graduate of St. Mary's High School...
, LeRoux called a press conference to reveal that he and his limited partners had exercised a contract clause and taken control of the Red Sox. He fired Sullivan on the spot, and restored O'Connell—who hadn't set foot in Fenway Park
Fenway Park
Fenway Park is a baseball park near Kenmore Square in Boston, Massachusetts. Located at 4 Yawkey Way, it has served as the home ballpark of the Boston Red Sox baseball club since it opened in 1912, and is the oldest Major League Baseball stadium currently in use. It is one of two "classic"...
since his dismissal in 1977—to the GM post. Boston called it "the Coup LeRoux." Sullivan and Mrs. Yawkey then immediately called their own press conference to announce they had filed suit to prevent the takeover. A court granted them an injunction, and in a public 1984 trial that aired dirty laundry on both sides, Sullivan and Yawkey won the day again. LeRoux was eventually bought out and Jean Yawkey became the majority general partner.
From GM to CEO/COO
But the damage had been done. Sullivan voluntarily gave up his general manager post to Lou GormanLou Gorman
James Gerald "Lou" Gorman was an American baseball executive, and the former general manager of the Boston Red Sox and Seattle Mariners of Major League Baseball...
in June 1984, immediately after the court victory over LeRoux, and became the team's chief executive and chief operating officer. Gorman received credit for trades that helped the 1986 Red Sox win the AL championship, although Sullivan's determination to build from within helped to furnish the club with many of its key players.
During Sullivan's tenure as general manager and top executive, the Red Sox, with their history as the last pre-expansion MLB team to break the color line
Baseball color line
The color line in American baseball excluded players of black African descent from Organized Baseball, or the major leagues and affiliated minor leagues, until Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers organization for the 1946 season...
, were again criticized for institutional racism. Fans and media noted the Red Sox' relative lack of African-American and Latin-American players. In a 1985 public relations disaster, the team was sued by former outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
and coach
Coach (baseball)
In baseball, a number of coaches assist in the smooth functioning of a team. They are assistants to the manager, or head coach, who determines the lineup and decides how to substitute players during the game...
Tommy Harper
Tommy Harper
Tommy Harper is an American former Major League Baseball outfielder and third baseman. He played with the Cincinnati Reds , Cleveland Indians , Seattle Pilots , Milwaukee Brewers , Boston Red Sox , California Angels , Oakland Athletics , and the Baltimore Orioles .-High School...
, an African-American. Harper was fired as a minor league base-running instructor after he complained to the media about the club's practice of allowing the all-white Elks Club
Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks
The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks is an American fraternal order and social club founded in 1868...
of Winter Haven, Florida
Winter Haven, Florida
Winter Haven is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 26,487 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2007 estimates, the city had a population of 32,577, making it the second most populated city in Polk County...
(where the team held spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
), into the Red Sox clubhouse to invite white players and front-office personnel to the Elks' segregated facilities. Harper's complaint was upheld by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on July 1, 1986. (Moreover, the city of Boston itself was painted as racist after the violence surrounding its school desegregation of the 1970s and incidents such as the Charles Stuart
Charles Stuart (murderer)
Charles "Chuck" Stuart was a man from Reading, Massachusetts who murdered his pregnant wife and inflamed racial tensions in the Boston area by concocting a fictitious African-American assailant.-Murders:...
affair in the late 1980s.) When the Red Sox re-entered the free agent market late in the 1980s, they were able to sign All-Star catcher Tony Peña
Tony Peña
Antonio Francisco Peña Padilla is a former professional baseball player, manager and current coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Pirates, Cardinals, Red Sox, Indians, White Sox, and Astros. Peña was the manager of the Kansas City Royals between 2002 and 2005. He...
, but many nonwhite players ignored the Red Sox in free agency, or included them on their "no trade" lists. This trend began to change when the Red Sox bid aggressively (but unsuccessfully) for Kirby Puckett
Kirby Puckett
Kirby Puckett was a Major League Baseball center fielder. He played his entire 12-year baseball career with the Minnesota Twins and he is the Twins franchise's all-time leader in career hits, runs, doubles, and total bases...
after the 1991 season.
After 1986 and LeRoux' exit, Sullivan and Mrs. Yawkey grew distant, and, although he still held a general partnership in the team, by the late 1980s Sullivan was consistently outvoted 2-1 by Mrs. Yawkey's two general partnership shares. (Sullivan's title of CEO/COO, meanwhile, quietly was removed from the team's masthead.) When Mrs. Yawkey died in 1992, Sullivan and her representative, John Harrington
John Harrington (Red Sox CEO)
John L. Harrington is an American business manager. He was the CEO of the Boston Red Sox.-Early life and career:He graduated from Boston College in 1957, and received his MBA from Boston College in 1966. After college, he was an officer in the U.S. Navy, then worked for both the General Accounting...
, who headed the JRY Trust
JRY Trust
After the death of Jean Yawkey in 1992, her interest in the Boston Red Sox passed into the JRY Corporation, later renamed the JRY Trust, headed by John Harrington, who was also CEO of the team. The trust's interest was sold to John Henry and his group of investors in 2002....
, each vowed to buy the other out. In November 1993, Harrington made good his word, acquiring Sullivan's share in the team for a reported $33 million.
Life after baseball
Sullivan then retired to the Gulf Coast of Florida, where he operated a marina and invested successfully in real estate, his name occasionally popping up (usually linked with former Commissioner of BaseballCommissioner of Baseball
The Commissioner of Baseball is the chief executive of Major League Baseball and its associated minor leagues. Under the direction of the Commissioner, the Office of the Commissioner of Baseball hires and maintains the sport's umpiring crews, and negotiates marketing, labor, and television contracts...
Fay Vincent
Fay Vincent
Francis Thomas "Fay" Vincent, Jr. is a former entertainment lawyer and sports executive who served as the eighth Commissioner of Major League Baseball from September 13, 1989 to September 7, 1992.-Early life and career:...
) as a potential part-owner of another major league club. When he died at age 72 in Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers, Florida
Fort Myers is the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. Its population was 62,298 in the 2010 census, a 29.23 percent increase over the 2000 figure....
, in February 2003 after suffering a stroke
Stroke
A stroke, previously known medically as a cerebrovascular accident , is the rapidly developing loss of brain function due to disturbance in the blood supply to the brain. This can be due to ischemia caused by blockage , or a hemorrhage...
, Boston baseball observers such as Peter Gammons
Peter Gammons
Peter Gammons is an American sportswriter, media personality, and a recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the BBWAA.-Education:...
took a fresh view of Sullivan's impact on the Red Sox and gave him renewed credit for building the team into contenders, and keeping them there, from 1966 forward.
He was named to the team's Hall of Fame
Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame
The Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame was instituted in 1995 to recognize the careers of former Boston Red Sox baseball players. A 15-member selection committee of Red Sox broadcasters and executives, past and present media personnel, and representatives from The Sports Museum of New England and the...
in 2004.
See also
- Boston Red Sox all-time rosterBoston Red Sox all-time rosterThe following is a list of players, past and present, who have appeared in at least one competitive game for the Boston Red Sox American League franchise , also known previously as the Boston Americans ....
- Florida GatorsFlorida GatorsThe Florida Gators are the intercollegiate sports teams that represent the University of Florida located in Gainesville, Florida. The "Lady Gators" is an alternative nickname sometimes used by the Gators women's teams...
- Florida Gators football, 1950–1959
- List of Florida Gators baseball players