'Is This Heaven? No, It's Skip Sullivan Field'

Oak Lawn IL

18 May, 2022

7:59 PM

Description

OAK LAWN, IL — Before a large gathering of Oak Lawn residents, students, faculty, alumni, and village and school officials, the field at was dedicated to beloved Oak Lawn Commumity High School coach and teacher Skip "Sully" Sullivan, who died in November after living with Parkinson's disease for 20 years. Alongside members of the Sullivan family, the coach's daughter, Dana Annel, recalled the many times she drove down Southwest Highway as a kid with her father, who never failed to point to the baseball field and remark, "there is heaven." For Skip Sullivan, it was all about the kids. Sullivan coached a combined 78 seasons for the Spartan baseball, basketball, football and golf, but baseball was his first love, serving as head coach for the Spartan varsity baseball team. He also taught history and psychology. His ability to drill down to the core of a student, especially those who came from troubled homes, earned him the nickname "Sigmund Sullivan," after the founder of psychiatry Sigmund Freud. A life-long Oak Lawn resident, Sullivan – who coined the phrase "once a Spartan, always a Spartan" – attended OLCHS as a student from 1965-1969. He played varsity football, basketball, and baseball and earned all-conference honors in basketball and baseball during his junior and senior years. After earning a degree in education from Iowa State University, where he played baseball and football, Sullivan headed back to OLCHS, where he stayed for the next 41 years. He was a full-time teacher and coach from 1973 to 2006, until his retirement in 2006, but he continued coaching part-time until 2014. Dist. 229 Superintendent Mike Riordan recalled joining OLCHS staff as a teacher in 1992, when Sullivan served on the new teacher orientation committee. "Not surprisingly, Skip made me and every new teacher feel welcomed, supported and cared for, that's the person Skip was every day and with everyone," Riordan said. "Skip made an indelible mark on our school and community. By naming our baseball field in his honor, all past, current and future Spartans will be reminded of the positive influence that Skip Sullivan provided all of us." OLCHS alum and former player, Brian Clifton, speaking on behalf of former players and coaches lining the baselines, talked about Sullivan's first year as the head baseball coach in 1995, for which Clifton played first base. Sullivan's Spartan baseball teams earned a reputation for being scrappy, hardworking and tough to beat. "One of Sully's greatest strengths a coach was the trust he placed in each of his players and coaches," Clifton said. "His wit, positivity and encouragement coupled beautifully with his competitiveness, and his players fed off it." Oak Lawn Community High School was Sullivan's home away from home, his daughter said. "Coaching was a big part of my dad's life, his players were his kids," Annel said. "He loved this field, I can only imagine him right now from heaven looking down smiling and feeling humbled that this is happening today. This means more to my family than you'll ever know." Sullivan's son, Mike, who works at OLCHS as an assistant to the dean, threw out the ceremonial first pitch, followed by Sullivan's grandchildren — Mason, Rosie, Caitlin and Chloe — who heaved pitches to current Spartan baseball players. Mayor Terry Vorderer was also in attendance, unveiling an honorary street sign, "Skip Sullivan Way," along the 9100 block of South Menard, where Skip walked most of his life as a student and a man to OLCHS. Oak Lawn Community High School is also creating a scholarship in the late coach's name to be awarded to a Spartan senior athlete. And, in what may be the last Sully Shuffle, an event where Skip liked to high-five the participants when they crossed the finish line, will be held Sunday, Sept. 25, at Oak Lawn Community High School. From the inaugural run in 2009 to 2019, until paused by the pandemic, the 5K raised $230,000 for Parkinson's research. Keep up with Sully Memorial Fun Run happenings on Facebook.