Tom Sullivan brings his famous growl and passion for the game to the MHSFCA Hall of Fame

Bay City, Michigan – Tom Sullivan recognized the potential in every player.

And he saw it as his responsibility to bring out the best in everyone.

Whether these players knew it or not, this is what they agreed to when they committed to play football for Coach Sully.

“Growing up, I thought I was a pretty good athlete, but I was never pushed enough to reach my potential,” Sullivan said. “I vowed that as a coach, I would never let a kid say that about me.”

“Now I’ve probably gone too far in the other direction. If you ask the guys who played for me, they’d probably tell you that I put them under a lot of pressure. But even so, many come up to me and tell me how grateful they are for that.”

After a 50-year career on the sidelines in which he became one of the driving forces behind the Bay City football scene, Sullivan is taking his place in the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He will be honored with the Class of 2024 at a banquet on Friday at the Detroit Marriott in Troy.

Sullivan coached football at All Saints, TL Handy and Bay City Central, making an impression at every stop. For five decades, players knew Coach Sully’s tough exterior, kind heart and booming voice – and he used them to inspire and motivate the players entrusted to him.

“Coach Sullivan was an old-school coach whose growl was always worse than his bite,” said former Bay City Central head coach Morley Fraser. “He loved the players he coached and they loved him, too.”

Sullivan, 79, a 1963 graduate of Bay City St. Mary’s where he was named All-Valley Parochial League, had long had coaching in his life’s plan. A member of the Bay County Sports Hall of Fame like his father — three-time St. Mary’s coach and police captain Jack Sullivan — Tom seemed to have been born and bred to coach.

“With my dad coaching when I was younger and building his own Hall of Fame resume, I’ve been around for a long time,” Sullivan said. “I know 50 years sounds like a lot, but it’s more like 80 years because I’ve been coaching my whole life.”

“That’s all I wanted to do. I remember watching my little league coach and my high school coaches to see how they did things. It all happened with the idea that I wanted to be a coach.”

Sullivan said St. Mary’s assistant coach Bob Revard recognized his coaching potential early on and encouraged him to go all out.

“I remember him taking me aside and telling me to do it right,” Sullivan said. “He wasn’t a teacher, but he told me, ‘Get a teaching degree, go straight into school and take care of the kids, and make this your career and your lifestyle.'”

Sullivan did just that, enjoying a long career as an educator in Bay City Public Schools – while also coaching basketball for 32 years and football for 50 years.

He began his career as an eighth-grade coach at St. Stan’s, where he coached many of the basketball players who won back-to-back state championships with All Saints in 1974 and 1975. He joined Ray Dombroski’s staff at All Saints in 1969 and moved to Handy in 1973.

He was a staple on the Wildcats’ football team for 17 years under head coaches Gene Rademacher, Jerry Grant and Ron Hughes. When Handy was hired in 1990, he joined Central for the next 17 seasons. He was honored with the MHSFCA’s Assistant Coach of the Year award in 2014, along with fellow Central coaches Rademacher, Bryan Bishop, Mark Neal and Phil Zanotti.

When a junior high program was introduced at Handy Middle School in 2008, Sullivan was tasked with leading this new Wildcat group. And once again, a familiar voice echoed across the landscape of 601 Blend.

“That’s how I was, it wasn’t fake,” he said. “If that’s really who you are, you have to live with it. And it did me good.”

Sullivan thrived in that role for the next 11 seasons, finishing undefeated before retiring in 2018. Now he gets a moment of recognition for a career filled with hard work, dedication and passion.

He joins the Class of 2024, which includes Roger Bearss of Millington, Jack Glass of Hudsonville, Paul Jacobson of Negaunee, Steve Kersten of Williamston, Marc Lemerand of Hillsdale, Greg Meter of Saginaw Nouvel, David Mifsud of Dearborn, Rodereck Oden of Harper Woods, Monty Price of Belding, Pete Schermerhorn of Portage Northern, Craig Snyder of Ithaca, Craig Tibbe of Unity Christian and Jim Voss of East Grand Rapids.

Sullivan and Co. receive commemorative rings and are inducted into the Hall of Fame at Michigan Stadium.

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