Sleeper Sullivan

Sleeper Sullivan
Sleeper Sullivan
	St. Louis, Missouri
	Batted: Right Threw: Right
MLB debut
	May 3, 1881, for the Buffalo Bisons
Last MLB appearance
	May 10, 1884, for the St. Louis Maroons
MLB statistics
Batting average	.184
Hits	63
Runs batted in	15
Teams
	Buffalo Bisons (1881); St. Louis Brown Stockings/Browns (1882–1883); Louisville Eclipse (1883); St. Louis Maroons (1884);

Thomas Jefferson Sullivan (1859 – October 13, 1909) was an Irish born

Louisville Eclipse, and the Union Association's St. Louis Maroons during the 1880s. Sullivan stood at 5' 7" and weighed 175 lb.^[1]

Career

Sullivan was born in

St. Louis, Missouri.^[1]^[2] He started his professional baseball career in 1877, when he played for two teams: the New England League's Lowell Ladies Men and the League Alliance's Evansville Red. Sullivan then moved to the International Association in 1878 and the Northwestern League in 1879.^[3]

In 1881, Sullivan joined the National League's Buffalo Bisons and made his major league debut on May 3.

OPS+ (39) of the team's regulars.^[6] He also ranked second in the league in passed balls, with 97. The following season, Sullivan played eight games for St. Louis and one game for the Louisville Eclipse, with a batting average of .207. In 1884, he played one games for the Union Association's St. Louis Maroons. Sullivan last appeared in a major league game on May 10 of that year.^[1]

By 1886, Sullivan had moved back to the eastern part of the country. He spent that year playing in the

Meriden Silvermen and Hartford Dark Blues, and in 1887, he played for the Eastern League's Danbury Hatters and the Pennsylvania State Association's Reading franchise. His primary position for Danbury and Reading was shortstop. Sullivan played in the Atlantic Association in 1889 and 1890 and in the New England League in 1891. His last stop was the Eastern League in 1892 before ending his professional baseball career.^[3]

Sullivan earned the nickname "Sleeper" because of his unfamiliarity with Pullman sleeper cars in an era when baseball teams traveled by train.^[2] He died in St. Louis in 1909 and was buried in Calvary Cemetery.^[1]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Sleeper Sullivan Statistics and History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
^ ^a ^b Morris, Peter (2010). Catcher: How the Man Behind the Plate Became an American Folk Hero. Government Institutes. p. 94.
^ ^a ^b "Sleeper Sullivan Minor League Statistics & History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved August 27, 2011.
^ "1881 Buffalo Bisons Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 19, 2019.
^ Cash, Jon David (2002). Before They Were Cardinals. University of Missouri Press. p. 68.
^ "1882 St. Louis Brown Stockings Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 4, 2022.

External links

Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference, or Baseball Reference (Minors)
Sleeper Sullivan at Find a Grave

[statistics-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f "Sleeper Sullivan Statistics and History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved August 27, 2011.

[Catcher-2] Morris, Peter (2010). Catcher: How the Man Behind the Plate Became an American Folk Hero. Government Institutes. p. 94.

[minors-3] "Sleeper Sullivan Minor League Statistics & History". baseball-reference.com. Retrieved August 27, 2011.

[4] "1881 Buffalo Bisons Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved July 19, 2019.

[5] Cash, Jon David (2002). Before They Were Cardinals. University of Missouri Press. p. 68.

[6] "1882 St. Louis Brown Stockings Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. Retrieved June 4, 2022.

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