# Sleeper Sullivan
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{{Short description|Irish baseball player (1859–1909)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox baseball biography
|name=Sleeper Sullivan
|image=Sleeper Sullivan 1881.jpg
|image_size=
|position=[Catcher](/source/Catcher)
|bats=Right
|throws=Right
|birth_date=1859
|birth_place=Ireland
|death_date=October 13, 1909
|death_place=[St. Louis, Missouri](/source/St._Louis%2C_Missouri), U.S.
|debutleague = MLB
|debutdate=May 3
|debutyear=1881
|debutteam=Buffalo Bisons
|finalleague = MLB
|finaldate=May 10
|finalyear=1884
|finalteam=St. Louis Maroons
|statleague = MLB
|stat1label=[Batting average](/source/Batting_average_(baseball))
|stat1value=.184
|stat2label=[Hits](/source/Hit_(baseball))
|stat2value=63
|stat3label=[Runs batted in](/source/Run_batted_in)
|stat3value=15
|teams=
* [Buffalo Bisons](/source/Buffalo_Bisons_(NL)) ({{baseball year|1881}})
* [St. Louis Brown Stockings/Browns](/source/St._Louis_Browns_(NL)) ({{baseball year|1882}}–{{baseball year|1883}})
* [Louisville Eclipse](/source/Louisville_Eclipse) ({{baseball year|1883}})
* [St. Louis Maroons](/source/St._Louis_Maroons%2FIndianapolis_Hoosiers) ({{baseball year|1884}})
}}
'''Thomas Jefferson Sullivan''' (1859 – October 13, 1909) was an Irish born [catcher](/source/catcher) in [Major League Baseball](/source/Major_League_Baseball). Nicknamed "Sleeper" and "Old Iron Hands",[{{Cite web |title=Sleeper Sullivan Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Rookie Status & More |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sullisl01.shtml |access-date=2025-05-17 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}] Sullivan played for the [National League](/source/National_League_(baseball))'s [Buffalo Bisons](/source/Buffalo_Bisons_(NL)), the [American Association](/source/American_Association_(19th_century))'s [St. Louis Brown Stockings](/source/St._Louis_Browns_(NL)) and [Louisville Eclipse](/source/Louisville_Eclipse), and the [Union Association](/source/Union_Association)'s [St. Louis Maroons](/source/St._Louis_Maroons%2FIndianapolis_Hoosiers) during the 1880s. Sullivan stood at 5' 7" and weighed 175 lb.[Morris, Peter (2010). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=86P2pteOc40C&dq Catcher: How the Man Behind the Plate Became an American Folk Hero]''. Government Institutes. p. 94.] He started his professional baseball career in 1877, when he played for two teams: the New England League's Lowell Ladies Men and the [League Alliance](/source/League_Alliance)'s Evansville Red. Sullivan then moved to the [International Association](/source/International_Association_for_Professional_Base_Ball_Players) in 1878 and the Northwestern League in 1879.[[https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=sulliv001sle "Sleeper Sullivan Minor League Statistics & History"]. baseball-reference.com. Retrieved August 27, 2011.]
In 1881, Sullivan joined the National League's Buffalo Bisons and made his major league debut on May 3.[{{Cite web |title=1881 Buffalo Bisons Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/BUF/1881.shtml |access-date=July 19, 2019 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}] After the season, Sullivan jumped to the American Association's St. Louis Brown Stockings,[Cash, Jon David (2002). ''[https://books.google.com/books?id=xDKzBhhDcZEC&dq Before They Were Cardinals]''. University of Missouri Press. p. 68.] where he played in 1882 and part of 1883. He was the team's starting catcher in 1882, playing in 51 games, but he had the lowest [batting average](/source/batting_average_(baseball)) (.190) and [OPS+](/source/OPS%2B) (39) of the team's regulars.[{{Cite web |title=1882 St. Louis Brown Stockings Statistics |url=https://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/STL/1882.shtml |access-date=2022-06-04 |website=Baseball-Reference.com |language=en}}] He also ranked second in the league in [passed ball](/source/passed_ball)s, with 97. The following season, Sullivan played eight games for St. Louis and one game for the Louisville Eclipse, with a batting average of .207. In 1884, he played one games for the Union Association's St. Louis Maroons. Sullivan last appeared in a major league game on May 10 of that year.