Haywood Sullivan

Haywood Cooper Sullivan

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 4", Weight 215 lb.
• School University of Florida
• High School Dothan High School
• Debut September 20, 1955
• Final Game June 30, 1963
• Born December 15, 1930 in Donalsonville, GA USA
• Died February 12, 2003 in Fort Myers, FL USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Haywood Sullivan played in the majors from 1955 to 1963, primarily as a catcher. While he spent four years with the Boston Red Sox and only three with the Kansas City Athletics, he had 718 of his lifetime 851 at-bats with the Athletics. He also managed the Athletics for most of the 1965 season.

Sullivan was General Manager and part owner (with Jean Yawkey) of the Boston Red Sox from 1978 to 1983. Sullivan had been assistant GM of the Red Sox from 1966 to 1977. He essentially inherited a contending team in the late 1970s including the 99 win 1978 team that lost the division title in a one-game playoff against the New York Yankees. In his time as GM he traded popular players Rick Burleson, Butch Hobson and Fred Lynn and lost Carlton Fisk to free agency when he failed to offer Fisk a contract before a deadline. He then brought in over-the-hill stars like Joe Rudi and Tony Perez who along with 43-year-old Carl Yastrzemski were well equipped to compete with the 1983 Philadelphia Phillies for the title of oldest team in the majors. He also drafted and brought to the majors, his son, catcher Marc Sullivan, whose hitting was absolutely inept. On the plus side for Sullivan he did acquire batting champion Carney Lansford, who he then traded to the Oakland Athletics for home run champion Tony Armas.

Following the 1983 season, in which the Red Sox were 78-84, Sullivan was replaced by Lou Gorman as GM of the club after a dispute with fellow owner Buddy Leroux.

Preceded by Mel McGaha

Kansas City Athletics Manager 1965

Succeeded by Alvin Dark

Preceded by Dick O'Connell

Boston Red Sox General Manager 1978-1983

Succeeded by Lou Gorman

Year-By-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1965	Vancouver Mounties	Pacific Coast League	13-14	--	Kansas City Athletics		replaced by Bobby Hofman on May 17
1965	Kansas City Athletics	American League	54-82	10th	Kansas City Athletics		replaced Mel McGaha (5-21) on May 16

Further Reading

• Larry Colton: Southern League: A True Story of Baseball, Civil Rights, and the Deep South's Most Compelling Pennant Race, Grand Central Publishing, New York, NY, 2013. ISBN 978-1455511884
• Mathew Sisson: "Haywood Sullivan", in Mark Armour and Bill Nowlin, eds.: Red Sox Baseball in the Days of Ike and Elvis: The Red Sox of the 1950s, SABR, Phoenix, AZ, 2012, pp. 124-131. ISBN 978-1933599243

Related Sites

• Haywood Sullivan at the SABR Bio Project
• BR Manager page