| Ted Sullivan | |
|---|---|
 An 1893 illustration of Sullivan | |
| Manager/Right fielder | |
| Born:(1851-03-17)March 17, 1851 County Clare, Ireland | |
| Died: July 5, 1929(1929-07-05) (aged 78) Washington, D. C., U.S. | |
Batted: Unknown Threw: Unknown | |
| MLB debut | |
| July 16, 1884, for the Kansas City Cowboys | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 18, 1884, for the Kansas City Cowboys | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Games played | 4 |
| At bats | 11 |
| Batting average | .364 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| As Player As Manager | |
Timothy Paul "Ted" Sullivan (March 17, 1851 – July 5, 1929) was anIrish bornmanager and player inMajor League Baseball who was born inCounty Clare, Ireland.
After attendingSt. Mary's College (inSt. Mary's, Kansas) andSaint Louis University,[1] he managed four teams during the 1880s, one of which was the1884St. Louis Maroons of theUnion Association, which finished with an astonishing 94–19 record. He began the year with a 28–3 record, but moved on in midseason to manage another UA team, theKansas City Cowboys;Fred Dunlap took over in St. Louis, compiling a 66–16 record as the Maroons won the UA pennant in the league's only year of existence. Kansas City was a dismal 3–17 when Sullivan took over managerial duties, going 13–46 the rest of way. During his time in Kansas City, he also made his only three field appearances, playing two games inright field and one as ashortstop; he collected threehits in nineat bats. He did not manage again until the1888Washington Nationals, then 10–29, hired him to finish out the season.[2] He led the team to a mark of 38–57, and ended his major league career with a record of 132–132. Sullivan later managed in the minors, including a stint with theNashville Tigers of theSouthern League in1893.[3]
Sullivan is considered a pioneer of early baseball; he founded both theNorthwest League and theTexas League, both minor leagues that still exist and thrive today. Credited with discoveringCharles Comiskey, he is considered by some to be the first person to emphasize the importance ofscouting.[4] Comiskey joined theSt. Louis Browns in1882, and replaced Sullivan as the team's manager in mid-1883; it had been Sullivan's first managerial post, as he compiled a record of 53–26 to begin the year. Also, Sullivan was a great promoter of the game; he would tell stories of baseball's beginnings, and of its many star players. He authored books detailing these, including a barnstorming trip around the world in 1913–1914 by Comiskey'sChicago White Sox and theNew York Giants. He also credited himself as the originator of the word "fan", as in baseball fan. Sullivan later became a team executive and owner.
Sullivan died in Washington, D.C. at the age of 78, and is interred at Calvary Catholic Cemetery inMilwaukee, Wisconsin.