Nice Article on Pat Sullivan

[scout]

I never felt that the Sullivan family got the respect due to them from the oafs who ruled the local media.

Willie McDonough was a suck-up, would be Hedda Hopper. When Al Davis was on the top of the heap, he ass-kissed Al Davis. When Parcels was ruling in New York with the Giants, Willie McDonut was on his knees ass-kissing Bill Parcels.

Since McDonut really didn't know squat about football, he disguised this by criticizing everyone when they lost. McDonut also masqueraded as an expert, by providing the "inside dirt". He reported on locker room feuds, the very personal antagonisms, and contract disagreements, exactly as if were Hedda Hopper in Hollywood reporting on the foibles of the self-centered narcissistic asses, with way too much money, and nowhere near enough brains, that inhabit that city.

McDonough, was always hoping to be promoted to the "Big Time. He tried to get to LA-LA Land or the Big Apple, and as the dean of Boston sports reportage, could never comprehend that some people actually do things and choose paths that do not include chasing the last buck.

Billy was actually proud of his home city; and sacrificed to keep his creation, the Patriots, in New England.

Bob Kraft demonstrated Noblesse Oblige and true class, when he didn't have to, since no one was looking, when he told Pat Sullivan's kids about their Grandfather. That may sound aristocratic and condescending, but it does take someone who is noble himself, to display that trait.

My opinion of Bob Kraft gets even more elevated. He too had his temptation; and Hartford'd politicians would have given him even more money, but just like Billy, Bob turned it down.

Wow! Are you freakin' serious? Pat Sullivan over Will McDonough? Will may have been one of the best sports writers the Globe has ever known. Then, when a primadona athlete told Will to F' off, Will decked him. You want to compare the careers of those two people, good luck. One bankrupted an organization and paraded the sidelines like a nerd on roids. While the other paved the way for sports writers to enter the TV market. His desk sat vacant at the Globe for a considerable time, no one take his place. It may still be empty. It ought to be.

 

[chris_in_sunnyvale]

Glad to hear that he appears to be doing well with his studio truck business. I always enjoy a "where are they now" story of old Pats, even those I rolled my eyes at like the Sullivan family.

Regards,
Chris

 

[mr3putt]

Pat Sullivan was a dope in High School
Was a dope as a GM
And was lucky that Millan could not finish what Pat started that day.

There is a huge gulf between the competence and class of the Sullivans and the Krafts.

Night and Day

 

[RayClay]

Wow! Are you freakin' serious? Pat Sullivan over Will McDonough? Will may have been one of the best sports writers the Globe has ever known. Then, when a primadona athlete told Will to F' off, Will decked him. You want to compare the careers of those two people, good luck. One bankrupted an organization and paraded the sidelines like a nerd on roids. While the other paved the way for sports writers to enter the TV market. His desk sat vacant at the Globe for a considerable time, no one take his place. It may still be empty. It ought to be.

While I agree McDonough was the best sportwriter in the area, his loyalties were often questionable and he was a toadie for Al Davis and for Parcells when he abandoned the team.

He was flat out jealous of fellow Irisman Billy Sullivan because Billy owned a team and he didn't.

Clayborn accidentally poked him in the eye, so Mcdonough sucker punched him.

Ray felt awful about his conduct and apologized to Will and Mrs. McDonough, who always thought Clayborn was a great guy for that. This is documented, although it might be hard to find.

McDonough was a real sweetheart. He was still a friend of Billy and Whitey Bulger, even after the dug up all those bodies.

 

[RayClay]

Pat Sullivan was a dope in High School
Was a dope as a GM
And was lucky that Millan could not finish what Pat started that day.

There is a huge gulf between the competence and class of the Sullivans and the Krafts.

Night and Day

Would Kraft have taken the gamble in 1959? I doubt it.

Takes all kinds.

 

[Patriotic]

Pat Sullivan was a dope in High School
Was a dope as a GM
And was lucky that Millan could not finish what Pat started that day.

There is a huge gulf between the competence and class of the Sullivans and the Krafts.

Night and Day

Quit beating around the bush. If you think he was a dope, say it.

 

[RayClay]

Pat Sullivan was a dope in High School
Was a dope as a GM
And was lucky that Millan could not finish what Pat started that day.

There is a huge gulf between the competence and class of the Sullivans and the Krafts.

Night and Day

He wasn't smart enough to marry into a business like Kraft, but it seems his video production company is pretty successful.

 

[bobgeorge]

I was at that game where Sullivan got slapped around by Long and Millen.

After I settled down after screaming my lungs out after we had just beat the Raiders at the LA Coliseum, I noticed a "scrum" as the players were heading to the tunnel which led to the locker rooms. The fans down at that corner of the stadium that hadn't gotten out yet started yelling and cheering this "scrum". From my vantage point I couldn't see why the fans were yelling, nor who was at the epicenter of the scrum.

I found out later that it was Patrick Sullivan screaming at Long and Millen, and the latter two cuffing him around. I believe Sullivan said things like "This gets you back for 1976!" or words similar. Long would later state that his five-year-old daughter could kick Sullivan's ass.

The Patriots held a great deal of animosity towards the Raiders back then, and a lot of that may exist today, perhaps in the opposite direction thanks to the Snow Bowl. In 1985, memories of Ben Dreith and Darryl Stingley were still very fresh on everyone's minds. Sullivan more or less carried with him the voices of all Patriot fans who seethed at Dreith and Jack Tatum and grieved for Stingley. I told myself "If Pat Sullivan has enough balls to take on those two guys, he can be my bodyguard any time."

In hindsight, I think Sullivan used bad judgment, and you would never see a Kraft (Jonathan, for example) do something like that. Sullivan came off looking like a buffoon, and it gave the family's detractors more to chide them over. I am glad that Donaldson put the Sullivans in a good light, and I am very touched by what Bob Kraft said to Patrick's kids about their grandfather. But for those of you who knew that era well, you cannot argue that the Sullivans did some things which made themselves look like second class owners who almost didn't belong at the same table with the rest of the big boys.

In 1986, the last time I went to Foxborough to see a Pats game, my late father and I were in the stands to see a preseason game against Washington. This guy with an AFC Championship ring and a walkie-talkie was sitting in front of us. I said to my father, "Dad, that's Patrick Sullivan!" Dad answered, "Who?"

Bob G

 

[PatsWorldChamps]

how funny is it that matt millen has turned into the worst GM in history?

 

[italian pat patriot]

I never felt that the Sullivan family got the respect due to them from the oafs who ruled the local media.

Billy was actually proud of his home city; and sacrificed to keep his creation, the Patriots, in New England.

Bob Kraft demonstrated Noblesse Oblige and true class, when he didn't have to, since no one was looking, when he told Pat Sullivan's kids about their Grandfather. That may sound aristocratic and condescending, but it does take someone who is noble himself, to display that trait.

My opinion of Bob Kraft gets even more elevated. He too had his temptation; and Hartford'd politicians would have given him even more money, but just like Billy, Bob turned it down.

great; very nice post/i agree

 

[Patjew]

how funny is it that matt millen has turned into the worst GM in history?

That's the part I love.

Good luck with another WR pick this year, Millen. How that guy still has a job is beyond me.

 

[RayClay]

I was at that game where Sullivan got slapped around by Long and Millen.

After I settled down after screaming my lungs out after we had just beat the Raiders at the LA Coliseum, I noticed a "scrum" as the players were heading to the tunnel which led to the locker rooms. The fans down at that corner of the stadium that hadn't gotten out yet started yelling and cheering this "scrum". From my vantage point I couldn't see why the fans were yelling, nor who was at the epicenter of the scrum.

I found out later that it was Patrick Sullivan screaming at Long and Millen, and the latter two cuffing him around. I believe Sullivan said things like "This gets you back for 1976!" or words similar. Long would later state that his five-year-old daughter could kick Sullivan's ass.

The Patriots held a great deal of animosity towards the Raiders back then, and a lot of that may exist today, perhaps in the opposite direction thanks to the Snow Bowl. In 1985, memories of Ben Dreith and Darryl Stingley were still very fresh on everyone's minds. Sullivan more or less carried with him the voices of all Patriot fans who seethed at Dreith and Jack Tatum and grieved for Stingley. I told myself "If Pat Sullivan has enough balls to take on those two guys, he can be my bodyguard any time."

In hindsight, I think Sullivan used bad judgment, and you would never see a Kraft (Jonathan, for example) do something like that. Sullivan came off looking like a buffoon, and it gave the family's detractors more to chide them over. I am glad that Donaldson put the Sullivans in a good light, and I am very touched by what Bob Kraft said to Patrick's kids about their grandfather. But for those of you who knew that era well, you cannot argue that the Sullivans did some things which made themselves look like second class owners who almost didn't belong at the same table with the rest of the big boys.

In 1986, the last time I went to Foxborough to see a Pats game, my late father and I were in the stands to see a preseason game against Washington. This guy with an AFC Championship ring and a walkie-talkie was sitting in front of us. I said to my father, "Dad, that's Patrick Sullivan!" Dad answered, "Who?"

Bob G

Great post, Bob.

I was never ashamed of the Patriots, just happy we had our own team.

A lot of Giants fans laughed at them. That was fine with me.

It would be nice if new leagues were all started by billionaires as a whim, or an investment, but they're not.

Look at the history of the NBA and AFL. These start ups are bad investments and smart businessmen stay away from them.

It's rich people with egos and crazy sports fans willing to gamble everything on a dream.

Just look at the early days of the NBA. Fights everywhere, regional drafts, very primitive and disorganized. The Celtics used to have a new terrible owner every couple of years after Brown and they were the greatest team ever.

I don't know what Philadelphia would have done with two football teams, but thats what they would have had if not for Sullivan.

 

[godef]

The Sullivans meant well. If Chuck Sullivan had turned a profit and not financial disaster with his family's investment with the Michael Jackson venture, they would have poured the money right back into the team.

Are you kidding? Chuck Sullivan was the cancer in the organization, cheap, and unwilling to pay for the talent that Chuck Fairbanks had begun to compile as head coach. He was one of the main reasons that Fairbanks took off to Colorado.

 

[RayClay]

Are you kidding? Chuck Sullivan was the cancer in the organization, cheap, and unwilling to pay for the talent that Chuck Fairbanks had begun to compile as head coach. He was one of the main reasons that Fairbanks took off to Colorado.

Yeah, Chuck was the A-hole of the organization. Unfortunately, the ones who weren't great businessmen thought he was.

I can't recall any involvement by him that wasn't disastrous.