© Photo Agency De Boer (Poppe de Boer), North Holland Archives
We have received the sad news that Bob Sullivan, founder, owner, and legendary manager of the famous Sullivans baseball team and our good Baseball Week friend, passed away on Tuesday, February 17, at the age of 96.
Bob Sullivan and his team participated in Haarlem Baseball Week fourteen times (winning the tournament six times), making him an icon of the famous biennial international tournament in Haarlem. During these events, Sullivan was almost always accompanied by his good friend (pitcher and coach) Carl Angelo, also an icon of Baseball Week. For his influence on and important role in the development of Dutch baseball, Sullivan was inducted into the Dutch Baseball and Softball Hall of Fame in 1984. The Sullivans also participated once in the World Port Tournament in Rotterdam.
Robert James (Bob) Sullivan was born on December 15, 1929, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, where he became a local legend. Not only in the world of baseball, but also as a successful businessman. A private memorial service for Bob Sullivan will be held at St. Mary's Church in Grand Rapids. A memorial gathering will take place at a later date.
In 1953, Bob Sullivan, then only 23 years old, founded his baseball team, a few years after starting his business, Sullivan's Carpet & Furniture, in Grand Rapids. Both his baseball team, officially called the Grand Rapids Sullivans, and his company became well-known names and household names, even in the Netherlands.
As his business became successful and profitable, Bob Sullivan was not only very active in the baseball world, but he also sponsored American football and basketball, was involved in boxing, and founded Little League Baseball in Grand Rapids. Thanks to a donation from Sullivan to the city of Grand Rapids in 2014, children were able to swim for free in municipal pools during the summer. Sullivan also owned the Howard Johnson Plaza Hotel Grand Rapids, the Radisson Hotel Grand Rapids Riverfront, and a number of bars.
Bob Sullivan also worked as a scout for the Detroit Tigers Major League club for 36 years. Over the years, many players from Sullivan's team went on to play professional baseball. More than seventy of them reached the Major League, including well-known players such as Mike Cubbage, Willie Horton, Kirk Gibson, Al Kaline, Dave Machemer, and Dave Rozema. Sullivan was also an advisor to former Tigers General Manager Jim Campbell.
The Sullivans team won numerous regional and national titles, including four National Baseball Congress championships (1960, 1970, 1983, and 1984). The team played in every NBC World Series tournament from 1955 to 1987. Bob Sullivan was the manager throughout those years. Sullivan was named Manager of the Tournament four times. The Sullivans played their home games in Grand Rapids at Valley Field (opened in 1937), which was renamed Sullivan Field in 1996.
In 1961, the Dutch national baseball team traveled to Grand Rapids and Kalamazoo, Michigan. There, the Dutch team played a number of games against the Sullivans. During this trip, contacts with Bob Sullivan were strengthened and he and his team were invited to visit Haarlem.
Two years later, in 1963, Sullivan's team participated for the first time in the second edition of Baseball Week, which was held for the first time in the new Pim Mulier Stadium, and was the first non-European team to come to Haarlem. However, in their first game, the Sullivans only beat the Netherlands 3-2! Later in the tournament, in their second game against the Dutch, the Americans won by only 2-1 in a rain-shortened game. The Sullivans won the tournament, but Bob Sullivan knew what he had to do: build a stronger team in the future. And that's what he did. The team dominated for years and became a crowd favorite!
The Sullivans returned in 1968 and went on to win three consecutive 'Weeks'. The team participated in the Haarlem Baseball Week fourteen times (1963, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, and 1998). Twelve times as the Sullivans and twice under the name Little Caesar's (in 1992 and 1994), when the pizza chain was the team's main sponsor. The Americans won the Haarlem Baseball Week six times (1963, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1988, and 1990).
On Friday evening, June 27, 1969, during the fifth Haarlem Baseball Week, Bob Sullivan and his team were involved in one of the most memorable moments in the history of the tournament. A moment that cannot be left out of this story. The game between the Netherlands and the Sullivans was scheduled for this seventh day of play. The Pim Mulier Stadium was quickly sold out, and several thousand spectators witnessed something that was referred to as "the scandal" in the Dutch newspapers the following day. During the game, a violent bench-clearing incident took place. Something like this had never happened before on a Dutch baseball field in the 1960s. In the third inning, a minor incident occurred when batter Boudewijn Maat was hit hard by a pitch from pitcher John Ravin. Maat was unable to continue playing. The Sullivans eventually increased their lead to 9-4. And then the sixth inning began. The American team scored twice in the 1st6, but then baserunner Bob Kruger was called out at second base by umpire Cor Blitterswijk for obstruction and breaking up a double play. During his slide, his leg came too high and too close to second baseman Johnny Jonkers. Bob Sullivan stormed onto the field and a heated discussion ensued with Blitterswijk. In the bottom of the sixth, Jonkers was the first batter. He was awarded first base after Alex Kanoza was called for obstruction. This time, Sullivan and his assistant Carl Angelo argued with umpire Aart Wedemeijer. Sullivan and Angelo's protests were met with loud boos and shouts from the spectators. At the same time, a skirmish broke out at the batter's box between the next batter, Hans Augustinus, and catcher Alex Kanoza. A few Sullivan players began to interfere, as did a few Dutch players. Hamilton Richardson ran onto the field and pushed a player. After that, all hell broke loose, because suddenly all the players were on the field. And yes, a few punches were thrown. In the end, no one was sent off the field. After calm was restored, the game resumed. After the sixth inning, Sullivans led 11-6. After two scoreless innings, Sullivans rallied for ten runs in the ninth inning and won 21-6.
After the game, the entire board of the association gathered to discuss this special moment. "I'm sorry," Bob Sullivan said to organization chairman Gerard Voogd after the game. After the tournament, Bob Sullivan had nothing but praise. He told the press at the time: "Dutch baseball is coming of age. Not only in terms of play, but especially in terms of conditions. The audience here has a better feel for the sport, better than the last two times I was here. Back then, they only applauded for a base hit or a good catch. Now you can feel the right baseball atmosphere an hour before the game and even during the game. That's why I say that baseball in the Netherlands is coming of age. Baseball in the Netherlands has a bright future."
For the "Leesvoer" section of Baseball Week 1990, the author of this In Memoriam (and editor-in-chief of "Leesvoer") spoke with the umpires involved, Cor Blitterswijk and Aart Wedemeijer, who have both sadly also passed away. Blitterswijk said at the time: "I was standing at second base. One of the Sullivans players broke up a double play pretty hard, and that just wasn't allowed here back then. I called him out, and then Bob Sullivan came over. He was so angry. We exchanged a few words, him in English, me in Dutch. Well, since then, you've been allowed to break up double plays in the Netherlands." Wedemeijer: "I was in charge during the infamous brawl. It was a situation you never forget. Well, that was something, but luckily we were able to finish the game." Bob Sullivan continued to return to Haarlem regularly with his team after 1969. Despite his actions in 1969, he too became a crowd favorite and one of the most respected and influential participants in the "Week."
When the team played in Haarlem, Bob Sullivan regularly invited former professional players to travel with his team to the Netherlands, including former Major League players Phil Regan in 1974 and Scott Meyer in 1982. Several players from the Sullivans team would later play in the Major League, such as Paul Assenmacher (who participated in 1982), Jeff Cirillo (1990), Bronson Heflin (1992), Mike Sirotka (1990), and Mike Squires (1972). Assenmacher played 14 seasons in the Major League and reached the World Series in 1995 and 1997 with the Cleveland Indians. Cirillo also played 14 seasons in the Major League and was selected for the All-Star Game in 1997 and 2000. Squires played 10 seasons in the Major Leagues. In 1980, he became the first left-handed catcher in Major League Baseball since 1958. And in 1983, he was the first left-handed third baseman in 50 years.
Over the years, the team regularly had players with Dutch-sounding surnames, such as Maas, Minnema, Nyhuis, Postema, Schreyer, Terpstra, Vanderberg, Vanderlaan, Vandycke, Vanpelt, Veenstra, Visser, and Vos. This was, of course, due to the fact that the Sullivans came from Grand Rapids, an area in Michigan where many families with Dutch roots live. Not only in Grand Rapids, but also in surrounding towns such as Holland, Zeeland, Noordeloos, Borculo, Zutphen, Overisel, Bloomingdale, and Orangeville.
Sullivan and his team participated in the "Week" six times in a row between 1968-1976 and 1988-1998. In addition to winning Baseball Week six times, the team finished second three times and third five times. In 1999, the Sullivans came to the Netherlands one more time to participate in the World Port Tournament in Rotterdam, where the team finished third.
In the fourteen times that the Sullivans participated in the tournament in Haarlem, various individual awards were presented to the American team. Three times the team had the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the tournament: Jack Benedict (1968), Jack Rumohr (1969), and Glenn Dooney (1990). Four times the Best Pitcher came from the team: Rick Weinrich (1968), Rick Kruger (1969), Delwyn Lindsey (1971), and Tim McDonald (1992). Other awards included Home Run King (9x), Most Popular Player (2x), and Most Spectacular Player (3x). Bob Sullivan won the Press Award twice (1971, 1976) and the Best Coach award once (1972).
The name Bob Sullivan is inextricably linked to that of Carl Angelo, who was also an important part of the Sullivans team. Carl Angelo, who passed away in 2020 at the age of 88, played baseball for more than fifty years and also became a legend. Angelo owned a restaurant in Battle Creek for many years and became Sullivan's right-hand man on the baseball team. Initially, Angelo was one of the team's pitchers, but later he became Assistant Coach. As mentioned, the Sullivans participated in the Haarlem Baseball Week fourteen times. Angelo was a regular pitcher in the first seven editions, up to and including 1976. Sixteen years later (1992), Angelo pitched again in the "Week." In 1996, at the age of 64, he pitched 1/3 inning, making him the oldest player ever to participate in Baseball Week. In four other tournaments, Angelo served exclusively as coach. Angelo missed one of the Baseball Weeks in which the Sullivans participated.
Carl Angelo was also very popular with spectators because of his jokes and antics during and around the games. This earned him the nickname "Carl the Clown." In 1982, Angelo created one of the most memorable moments in the history of Haarlem Baseball Week when he played the national anthems of the participating countries on his trumpet. In 1992, the Most Popular Player award was named after Angelo. In 2002, Carl Angelo returned to the Netherlands for a vacation and subsequently donated his trumpet to the Dutch Baseball and Softball Museum during the 21st edition of Haarlem Baseball Week.
In 1984, Bob Sullivan was one of thirteen people in the second group to be inducted into the Dutch Baseball and Softball Hall of Fame. After Hamilton Richardson passed away in January, Bob Sullivan was the last surviving member of this class.
After a few years, Bob Sullivan and his team became part of the Haarlem Baseball Week furniture. From 1963 to 1998, they consistently provided spectacular baseball and plenty of entertainment. The team from Grand Rapids certainly took the tournament to a higher level.
Bob Sullivan always brought strong teams to Haarlem. A few times, Sullivan had to put together a team within weeks of the tournament because he was asked to fill in when another team couldn't make it. Sullivan always accepted and enjoyed coming to Haarlem every time.
In addition to entertaining the many spectators with excellent baseball, Bob Sullivan also enjoyed making his mark on the games with his regular discussions with the umpires. "I really enjoyed those moments. Yes, sometimes it was a show, but hey, that's just part of the game. But there were certainly heated discussions at times to keep everyone on their toes. Not just the umpires and my team, but myself as well," Sullivan said in an interview with Marco Stoovelaar a few years ago.
"I loved coming to Haarlem, I loved the tournament, and I really liked the organizers. We always had good and pleasant contact with each other," Sullivan said at the time. "This is a very unique event. I loved the spectators, I loved their singing, I loved interacting with them. They know baseball, Dutch fans are very knowledgeable. My players also had a great time every time. We came back regularly, always with pleasure. But I must also tell you that I asked the organizers a few times for confirmation and assurance that we would definitely participate and not be placed on a reserve list only to be called up as a substitute at the last minute. Anyway, if they called me again today, I would get on a plane right away and come with my team."
Bob Sullivan is one of the true legends of Haarlem Baseball Week.
Dear Bob, on behalf of all organizers, volunteers, and fans, we want to thank you for your many contributions to our wonderful tournament. You will always be part of Haarlem Baseball Week.
Thanks for the memories!
(Dear Bob, on behalf of all the organizers, volunteers, and fans, we would like to thank you for your many contributions to our wonderful and beloved tournament. You will always be a part of Haarlem Baseball Week.
Thanks for the memories!)
The board of Haarlem Baseball Week, everyone involved in the tournament, and all our loyal fans express their deepest
sympathy to Bob's family and wish them much strength.
Author: Marco Stoovelaar