Jim “Sly” Sullivan, a native of Butte, Mont.,, was a 1957 graduate of Western Montana College with a Bachelor of Science in secondary education with a major in social studies and minors in English and physical education.
Sullivan’s collegiate career actually began at Portland University followed by two years at Montana Tech. He put his college education on hold when he enlisted in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. After his honorable discharge, he resumed college at Western.
Sullivan, or Sly as he was known by his baseball teammates, was a dominate pitcher for Bulldog baseball in 1956 and 1957. He showed his versatility with time in the infield as well.
The Bulldogs finished second in the Montana Collegiate Conference (MCC) in 1957. Western. Western eliminated the Montana School of Mines from the MCC playoffs with a pair of wins to close the regular season. WMC beat Carroll in the first round of the playoffs and lost to Rocky for the championship.
After graduation, Sullivan worked as a teacher for the Butte School District for 27 years. Baseball was still his love and he managed baseball teams for 12 years, five American Legion teams, two Copper League teams, and five Industrial League teams.
Sullivan also helped coach and run the Whittier Grade School basketball tournament for 13 years. As a retiree, he loved playing golf and organized the golf summer league for Seniors from 1996-2005; he stopped playing golf at age 80.
Sullivan passed away April 3, 2017. His son John was inducted into Western Basketball Hall of Fame in 2002 becoming the first father-son combo to be inducted into the hall of fame.
