John Frank "Chub" Sullivan (January12, 1856September12, 1881) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

first baseman A first baseman, abbreviated 1B, is the player on a baseball or softball team who fields the area nearest first base, the first of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. The first baseman is responsible for the majori ...

who played for three seasons: two with the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

(1877–1878) and one with the

Worcester Worcesters The Worcester Worcesters were a 19th-century Major League Baseball team from 1880 to 1882 in the National League. The team is referred to, at times, as the Brown Stockings or the Ruby Legs; however, no contemporary sources from the time exist tha ...

(1880). He was nicknamed "Chub", but was 6 feet tall and weighed a mere 164 pounds. During his career, he was a popular player, sometimes known as a

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for his antics, and an early pioneer of the

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Career

Born in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts, Sullivan, as a 21-year-old

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

in 1877, was the tenth-youngest player to appear in a

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game during that season, replacing

Charlie Gould Charles Harvey Gould (August 21, 1847 – April 9, 1917), nicknamed "The Bushel Basket",Guschov, p. 31 was an American Major League Baseball player during the 1860s and 1870s. He was the first baseman for the original Cincinnati Red Stockings ...

at first base. Joining the team late in the season, he played in only eight

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, and batted .250. He stayed on with the Reds for the 1878 season, leading the league in games played, assists by a first baseman, and

fielding percentage In baseball statistics, fielding percentage, also known as fielding average, is a measure that reflects the percentage of times a defensive player properly handles a batted or thrown ball. It is calculated by the sum of putouts and assists, div ...

(.975). A tough hitter to strike out, Chub also finished seventh in

at bat In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

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ratio (27.1 to 1). Sullivan joined the Worcester

minor league Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities/markets. This term is used in Nor ...

club for the 1879 season, and the team did very well in a championship tournament following the season, and decided to apply as a replacement team in the National League, when the Syracuse Stars folded following the 1879 season. The team was accepted, and joined the League for the 1880 season. Sullivan played in 43 games, the last season of his career, batted .259, and is credited with zero RBIs. Sullivan's career totals include 112 games played, 114

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, 55

runs scored In baseball, a run is scored when a player advances around first, second and third base and returns safely to home plate, touching the bases in that order, before three outs are recorded and all obligations to reach base safely on batted balls ...

, 24 RBIs, and a batting average of .258.

Post-career

Sullivan became ill before the next season began, and eventually died on September 12 in his hometown of Boston, Massachusetts at the age of 25 of consumption, later known as

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. His Worcester teammates wore a black crêpe on their jersey sleeves in his memory, for the 1881 season.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Chub 1856 births 1881 deaths 19th-century baseball players Major League Baseball first basemen Cincinnati Reds (1876–1879) players Worcester Ruby Legs players Waterbury (minor league baseball) players Baseball players from Boston 19th-century deaths from tuberculosis Tuberculosis deaths in Massachusetts