Ted Sullivan, Barnacle of Baseball
The Life of the Prolific League Founder, Scout, Manager and Unrivaled Huckster
Published on 8. October 2021
Book
Paperback/Softback
285 pages
978-1-4766-8478-9 (ISBN)
Description
In his day, perhaps no one in baseball was better known than Irish-born Timothy Paul "Ted" Sullivan. For 50 years, America's sportswriters sang his praises, genuflected to his genius and bought his blarney by the barrel. Damon Runyon dubbed him "The Celebrated Carpetbagger of Baseball."
Cunning, fast-talking, witty and sober, Sullivan was the game's first player agent, a groundbreaking scout who pulled future Hall of Famers from the bushes, an author, a playwright and a baseball evangelist who promoted the game across five continents. He coined the term "fan" and was among the first to suggest the designated hitter--because pitchers were "a lot of whippoorwill swingers." But he was also a convert to the Jim Crow attitudes of his day--black ballplayers were unimaginable to him.
Unearthing thousands of contemporaneous newspaper accounts, this first exhaustive biography of "Hustlin'" Ted Sullivan recounts the life and career of one of the greatest hucksters in the history of the game.
Cunning, fast-talking, witty and sober, Sullivan was the game's first player agent, a groundbreaking scout who pulled future Hall of Famers from the bushes, an author, a playwright and a baseball evangelist who promoted the game across five continents. He coined the term "fan" and was among the first to suggest the designated hitter--because pitchers were "a lot of whippoorwill swingers." But he was also a convert to the Jim Crow attitudes of his day--black ballplayers were unimaginable to him.
Unearthing thousands of contemporaneous newspaper accounts, this first exhaustive biography of "Hustlin'" Ted Sullivan recounts the life and career of one of the greatest hucksters in the history of the game.
Reviews / Votes
"Well researched and an engaging read."-SABR Deadball Era Committee NewsletterMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
Jefferson, NC
United States
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Interest Age: From 18 years
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
64 photos, notes, bibliography, index
Dimensions
Height: 229 mm
Width: 152 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
468 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4766-8478-9 (9781476684789)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Pat O'Neill is a retired publicist and marketing executive and former editor of a Colorado weekly newspaper. He currently is president of the board of the Kansas City Irish Center. Tom Coffman has spent nearly 30 years as a media and government relations practitioner in the solid waste industry. He has worked as a reporter, editor and photographer for a weekly newspaper. He lives in Mission, Kansas.
Content
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
Preface by Pat O'Neill
?1.?A Long, Long Way from Clare to Here
?2.?Young Sullivan at Old St. Mary's: Jesuit Priests, Prairie Fires, and a Freshman Phenom
?3.?Playing for Peanuts: Ted and Charlie Take Their Game to Dubuque
?4.?In Fast Company: 1879 Dubuque Rabbits
?5.?Taking on "The Infidels"
?6.?A Sorry State of the Union
?7.?Back to the Bushes
?8.?Not Milwaukee's Best
?9.?Behind the Plate
10.?"Senator Sullivan" Goes to Washington
11.?Back to the "Auld" Country
12.?Things Go South: Chattanooga and "The Dry Grins," 1892
13.?A Tale of Two Sullivans
14.?At Home on the Range
15.?Ted Herds His Steers North to New Haven
16.?Dubuque, Part II
17.?"Same Old Trick": Southern Postscript, 1899
18.?A Midwife of the American League
19.?The Prodigal Hustler Returns
20.?"The Original Gumshoe Man": Beating the Bushes for Prospects
21.?Sullivan's -Off-Base Humor
22.?Baseball's Ubiquitous Ambassador
23.?Show Him the Money
24.?Next Stop: The World
25.?Ted's Magic Lantern Show
26.?Sox and Saints: Hall of Famers Slay St. Mary's
27.?Twilight of a Colorful Career
28.?Ted's Last Hurrah
29.?The Third Strike
Sporting Editor's Notes
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index
Acknowledgments
Preface by Pat O'Neill
?1.?A Long, Long Way from Clare to Here
?2.?Young Sullivan at Old St. Mary's: Jesuit Priests, Prairie Fires, and a Freshman Phenom
?3.?Playing for Peanuts: Ted and Charlie Take Their Game to Dubuque
?4.?In Fast Company: 1879 Dubuque Rabbits
?5.?Taking on "The Infidels"
?6.?A Sorry State of the Union
?7.?Back to the Bushes
?8.?Not Milwaukee's Best
?9.?Behind the Plate
10.?"Senator Sullivan" Goes to Washington
11.?Back to the "Auld" Country
12.?Things Go South: Chattanooga and "The Dry Grins," 1892
13.?A Tale of Two Sullivans
14.?At Home on the Range
15.?Ted Herds His Steers North to New Haven
16.?Dubuque, Part II
17.?"Same Old Trick": Southern Postscript, 1899
18.?A Midwife of the American League
19.?The Prodigal Hustler Returns
20.?"The Original Gumshoe Man": Beating the Bushes for Prospects
21.?Sullivan's -Off-Base Humor
22.?Baseball's Ubiquitous Ambassador
23.?Show Him the Money
24.?Next Stop: The World
25.?Ted's Magic Lantern Show
26.?Sox and Saints: Hall of Famers Slay St. Mary's
27.?Twilight of a Colorful Career
28.?Ted's Last Hurrah
29.?The Third Strike
Sporting Editor's Notes
Chapter Notes
Bibliography
Index