According to his FindAGrave profile, Daniel C. Sullivan died of tuberculosis and suffered from Bright’s disease…  That said, I’m not sure that they have the right grave site in as much as the image shows someone who fought in the Great War for Slavery with a company in the 10th Connecticut Infantry.  And, if that’s so, he’d be a lot older because there weren’t many people who served in that war between the ages of four and nine.  Did that infantry company serve in the western wars that expanded the American empire?

I digress.

According to his Rhode Island birth record, Daniel C. Sullivan was actually born in Fall River, Massachusetts (just across the state border) on May 9, 1857 to Dennis and Nancy Sullivan – both were Irish immigrants and Daniel was child #3.  In fact, the Sullivans were rather recent immigrants, having had baby #2 in Ireland and he was born three years ahead of our subject.  By the 1860 US Census, there were three children – but an older sibling was hanging with other family and a baby sister had arrived.  By 1870, three more kids were added to the crowded house – all nine family members were living together now.

Sullivan started his baseball life playing in local Providence leagues, then spent time playing ball in Ohio for 1881 – first in Cleveland and then in Akron, where his teammates included Bid McPhee and Tony Mullane.

Photo, above: Members of the 1882 Louisville Eclipse team.  Top row, standing, from left: Leech Maskrey (OF), Pete Browning (2B), Tony Mullane (P) and Charles Strick (C). Middle, seated: Dan Sullivan (C), Denny Mack (SS), Bill Schenck (3B) and Guy Hecker (1B). Front row, on ground: John Reccius (OF) and Chicken Wolf (OF).

Starting in 1882, Sullivan played for the Louisville Eclipse for three full seasons and part of a fourth. He was signed by St. Louis to finish 1885 when they suffered a rash of injuries, and his MLB career ended with Pittsburgh in 1886 – all seasons with teams in the American Association – doing most of his time behind the plate when the great Guy Hecker was pitching.  In 1885 he was released by Louisville because he punched a local newspaper sports writer with the Louisville Commercial, William Osborne, for unkind comments in that paper.  (To be fair, the writer said Sullivan wasn’t playing up to par – and the statistics suggest the same as his batting average was lower but I don’t see it from a defensive standpoint.)  As for his personality, the LCJ wrote, “Sullivan was a good catcher, but a hoodlum and bully in those days.  He was a large, athletic man with hands the size of hams…”  And, apparently he was a drinker.

Sullivan returned home.  It would appear that he never married; never fathered children.  He attended the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair – came down with an illness.  Apparently it was tuberculosis, and he died rather quickly after returning home, passing to the next league on October 26, 1893.  So, the FindaGrave.com comment was correct…

Notes:

“The Opening Day at Akron,” Cleveland Leader, July 13, 1881: 5.
“Diamond Dust,” Cleveland Leader, July 13, 1881: 5.
“Sullivan Makes an Assault,” Louisville Courier-Journal, May 28, 1885: 6.
“Sullivan, the Hitter,” Louisville Courier-Journal, May 28, 1885: 6.
“A Ball Player’s Death,” Louisville Courier-Journal, October 27, 1893: 2.
Baseball Card Image Source
Team Photo Image Source