George James "Red" Sullivan (December 24, 1929 – January 19, 2019) was a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player who played in the

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(NHL) from

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2025 * January 2 – Luis ...

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

. After finishing his playing career Sullivan became a coach, serving in that role between 1962 and 1975.

Playing career

George "Red" Sullivan began his NHL career with the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

(

–

1953 Events January * January 6 – The Asian Socialist Conference opens in Rangoon, Burma. * January 12 – Estonian émigrés found a Estonian government-in-exile, government-in-exile in Oslo. * January 14 ** Marshal Josip Broz Tito ...

). He also played for the

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1954 Events January * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown–IBM experiment: The first public demonstration of a machine translation system is held in New York, at the head ...

–

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...

) and the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

(

–

). Sullivan led the Chicago Black Hawks in scoring for his two years in Chicago before being traded to the New York Rangers prior to the start of the 1956-57 season. Sullivan played in the NHL All-Star game five times (1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960) and was named the New York Rangers captain for the 1957-58 season. He remained the Rangers captain through the 1960-61 season, his last as an NHL player. Sullivan was severely injured, and very nearly killed, on November 26, 1956, when defenceman Doug Harvey of the Montreal Canadiens speared him in the stomach, rupturing his spleen, where a

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priest was even brought to the hospital to deliver his

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, however Sullivan survived and resumed his career with the

. During 556 NHL games, he scored 107 goals with 239 assists for 346 points. In the 2009 book ''100 Ranger Greats'', the authors ranked Sullivan at No. 66 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons.

Coaching career

Sullivan became the head coach of the Rangers during the 1962–63 season when fans began to demand Muzz Patrick resign. He coached a rather bad team until December 1965 when the Rangers' general manager, Emile Francis decided he himself would take over as head coach. Sullivan then coached the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...

in their first season. He was dismissed on March 31, 1969 after two consecutive seasons of the Penguins failing to qualify for the playoffs due to a pair of fifth-place finishes. During the 1974-1975 NHL season, Sullivan replaced Jim Anderson as head coach of the expansion

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

. Sullivan posted a 2-16 record as head coach and was replaced later that season by Milt Schmidt.Washington Capitals Club History
He died on January 19, 2019, after suffering for a number of years with Alzheimer's / dementia.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, George 1929 births 2019 deaths Baltimore Clippers players Boston Bruins players Boston Bruins scouts Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian sportspeople of Irish descent Chicago Blackhawks players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Hershey Bears players Kitchener Beavers (EPHL) players New York Rangers coaches New York Rangers players Philadelphia Flyers scouts Pittsburgh Penguins coaches Pittsburgh Penguins scouts St. Catharines Teepees players Ice hockey people from Peterborough, Ontario Washington Capitals coaches Washington Capitals scouts 20th-century Canadian sportsmen