Bob Sullivan

Bob Sullivan was the patriarch of baseball in West Michigan, founding Little League in Grand Rapids and creating the powerhouse Grand Rapids Sullivan’s, which played in every National Baseball Congress World Series tournament from 1955 through 1987.

Sullivan was as remarkable an athlete as a businessman, a swimmer so talented he was named All-City and a boxer so skilled he was inducted into the Michigan Golden Gloves Hall of Fame. But his biggest passion was baseball; he starred as a shortstop at Grand Rapids Catholic Central, and when his amateur team needed a sponsor in 1953, he stepped forward.

The Sullivan’s produced 249 professional players, including 76 Major Leaguers, among them such Major League standouts as Jim Kaat, Willie Horton, Mickey Stanley, Phil Regan and Kirk Gibson. They won National Baseball Congress national championships in 1960, 1970, 1983 and 1984; the prestigious Haarlem Baseball Week championship in the Netherlands in 1963, 1968, 1979, 1988 and 1990; and 30 state championships; while their home field, Valley Field, was renamed Sullivan Field.

In addition to his countless other accomplishments, Sullivan also worked as a Detroit Tigers scout and an advisor to Tigers general manager Jim Campbell throughout the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, signing over 200 players to professional contracts.

He passed away in February 2026 at the age of 96.