Haywood Sullivan

Haywood Cooper Sullivan
Born: Dec. 15, 1930 in Donalsonville, Ga.
Died: Feb. 12, 2003 in Fort Myers, Fla.
Debut: 1955 | Pos: C
H: 6-4 | W: 215 | B: R | T: R

>> Visit the Haywood Sullivan biography on Baseball Almanac for complete statistics.

Haywood Sullivan, a former major league player, manager, general manager and owner, died on Feb. 12, 2003 in Fort Myers, Fla. He was 72.

Sullivan was reported to have died following a stroke.

He debuted as a player in 1955 with the Boston Red Sox and played for them in 1957, 1959 and 1960. From 1961-63, he played for the Kansas City Athletics. His most productive season came in 1961 when he played in 117 games for the A's. He hit .242 with 6 home runs and 40 RBIs.

In 1965, he managed the Athletics for 136 games, finishing with a 54-82 record. At the end of that season, he joined the Red Sox as director of player personnel.

Sullivan, Jean Yawkey and Buddy LeRoux became owners of the Red Sox in 1978 and Sullivan became the team's general manager. He held the job until 1983. One of his more infamous moments came when he forgot to mail a contract offer to Carlton Fisk. The oversight allowed Fisk to become a free agent and sign with the White Sox in 1981.

On June 6, 1983, LeRoux made the announcement -- during Tony Conigliaro Night -- that he had taken over the team from Sullivan and Yawkey. Part of the announcement was that he and two other co-owners had reorganized the team and made LeRoux a general partner.

LeRoux's first act of business was to terminate Sullivan and hire Dick O'Connell as general manager. The move resulted in a court case and Sullivan finished out the season as the general manager.

He last worked for Boston in 1993. Following his career with the Red Sox, Sullivan ran a marina in Fort Myers.

His son, Marc, was a major league catcher from 1982-87.

Sources: Total Baseball, Associated Press