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Gerry Sullivan.  February 2001.

Is there a particular win or loss that you remember?

Oh, probably a loss, but it was for a different reason. It was in Green Bay where we had lost in overtime. One of our players shot the puck up in the stands, and it hit a spectator in the eye. Our player had to go to court for it...so that was something that was a bad loss, but it was even worse off the ice, you know, for the player. That still sticks out in my mind as something that was pretty bad. 

What players, including opponents, stand out in your mind?

Well, I played in Green Bay for a couple years, and John Mayasich was one of the outstanding players. He was out of college for ten or fifteen years, and he was still pretty good at that time. He had a fantastic college career too. He would be one.  Goalie Jim Coyle in Waterloo seemed to play good against me. Paul Coppo, who I played with for one year at Michigan Tech.  He went to Green Bay, and then I followed him there. He had an outstanding career at Tech and then at Green Bay.  However, over the years I played in Marquette I was impressed with many players, but I'll try to limit my selection to four.  Ozzie O'Neill would have to be my favorite as we played on the same line for so many years.  Ozzie had the knack of knowing what I was going to do or what I was thinking.  Many times during a game I would have the puck in a certain situation and not know what I was going to do with it.  By the time I had made up my mind, then made the play, usually to Ozzie's side of the ice, he had anticipated what I was going to do and got himself in position to receive the pass.  My pass looked good, but it was the great play by Ozzie to be in position to make it happen.  Once he got the puck there was a good chance it would end up in the opponents' net.  Ozzie also enjoyed the defensive part of the game as I did, and this was the reason we became pretty good penalty killers.  Ozzie O'Neill was an all around solid hockey player.

Brian Lunney was, in my opinion, a good enough goalkeeper to play in the NHL.  When I talked to players on the other teams they could not believe some of the saves he made against them.  For a big guy he had quick feet and hands.  I shot a lot of pucks at him in practice over the years but I never found a weakness where I could score on a regular basis.  He was a solid, complete goaltender.

Barry Cook was so valuable on defense.  He would make some great plays to help us score a goal when we were behind and get back in the game for a chance to win it.  On defense he played with so much confidence that it helped the rest of us settle down and get the puck out of our end.  Barry had one of the most reliable shots from the blue line.  I was never afraid of standing in front of the opponents' net for a tip-in when Barry was shooting because I knew the puck would be near the ice and not at my head.

Wayne McQuaig was a big, strong player that could shoot as good as anybody in hockey.  He was a steady, reliable player in each game he played.  He played defense and forward equally well, which is hard to do, but Oakie would move him back and forth during different games to help the team win.

Like I said, to save space I'll limit my choices to four, but I could name another ten excellent players very easily.  When you have success over so many years you have to have many good players, and we had them on the Iron Rangers.

Is there a humorous story that comes to mind?

Well, on the funnier side...a player...we were playing in the Soo, and he got in a fight. The Soo player had just got him right and had hit him a couple times in the face. And finally the referees separated them, and he came over to the bench.  He was bleeding from the nose. He got hit bad a couple times in the nose. He came over to the bench and said, "Boy, did that feel good". And I'm saying "Holy gees. He's punch drunk. He was hit too much". He said, "Did that feel good. When he stopped hitting me, did that feel good!"  The whole bench just laughed.


What is the story as to how you got on the team?

Well I had been playing in Green Bay and...this would be my first year back...I played in Finland for two years, and then I came back to play in Green Bay.  In 65-66 I asked for a raise. Whatever they offered me I asked for more money. And at that time it was, like, five bucks a game. So it was probably a total of about $100, maybe $150 for the whole year. They said, "No". So I said, "I'll make you a deal. I'll go and start the season, but at Christmas time I'm coming back to ask you again. So if I'm having a good year I'll expect it, and if I'm not you won't have to give it to me". So I went back, I'm leading the league in scoring...ok...In practice I taped some lead on my boots to make my skates heavier...work my legs out harder...and at half season I'm leading the League in scoring.  I'm having a great year. So I go back in and ask them, and they said, "No".  Flat out "No".  I just up and quit, and so, obviously, they suspended me. During the summer Carl Lackey got a job in Green Bay teaching. He was playing here in Marquette, and he got a job teaching, but it was in Green Bay.  He wanted to go down and play with the Bobcats. Well Marquette had his contract and Green Bay had my contract so they just switched. They traded each of us. So I came to Marquette. I hadn't planned on playing, because they weren't going to let me play...you know. I came back to Marquette to go to Northern. I had my bachelor's from Tech, so then I started on my Phy. Ed. degree and my education classes here at Northern.  I had just planned on going to school, and then the deal came through where they traded us, and I was eligible to play.

Click here to view the Mining Journal article announcing the trade whereby the Iron Rangers obtained the rights to Jerry Sullivan.

That's the most interesting story so far.

That was a nice surprise because, you know, they helped me with my schooling. The Iron Rangers helped me with my books and tuition and all that. Otherwise I would have had to pay all that myself.

And you helped them out a little bit, huh?

[Laughs] Yeah, it turned out I helped them a little.

Can you say anything about the fans in the Palestra at that time?

Well they were great, because a lot of times they disrupted the opposition and took them out of their game. It's not so much that they helped us out by cheering for us, but a lot of times they were so rabid and kind of hated the other team...they'd always pick out a couple guys from each team and just ride them. So those guys would get frustrated and try to take it out on us 
and they'd end up getting penalties...then we'd go ahead and score and of course obviously when we scored the backing from the fans really came for us. And in the Palestra you were so close to the action. It was nice. You know those front row seats were three feet away from the boards and no screen, no glass to protect you...or to interfere with the sound...you see...so the sound...the fans were really close so when they yelled.  I mean they were ten feet from you if you were close to the boards and they were just screaming, and you heard it. The opposition heard it. It fired us up, and it kind of got them angry. So it was kind of a two-fold...two-way street there because it helped us and hurt the other team.

Are there any stories that you can recall that explain how hockey was different back then as compared to now? Or would you just care to explain how hockey was different back then as compared to now?

...probably a little more care for the opposition. Meaning you played hard, you hit hard, but you didn't try to hurt...or put the guy out of the game.  You know, you just tried to hit them hard so they remembered you next time.  But I think now a lot of times it almost looks like they're trying to hurt the person, and, you know, put them out of the game. In those days, we had some guys, as always, who like to fight. Each team had their fighters, but back then it took a lot of tension out of the game. You'd have a fight. It kind of relaxes everyone...OK now we've had that, so now that frustration is out. Maybe if you lost, your guy or somebody else would want to have a second fight to get even, but then if there's a second fight and you win that one then everything's even...so now we play hockey.  We didn't want to injure an opponent because most of the players were working and we didn't want anyone to miss time at work.

That's interesting.

Yeah. That's why I think the pros like the fighting. I think it takes a lot of the aggression...a lot of the nasty aggression out of the game. If your guy is in a fight and he wins then you're happy. And again, like I say, if he loses then someone else has got to go out and get a second one.
If you lose a second one then sometimes that really frustrates a team, and sometimes it takes the wind out of them. They're not as confident and sometimes they feel like they're defeated. So a lot of times that fight helps a team and a lot of times it hurts a team.

So choose your second fight carefully.

[Laughing] Yeah, right.

Can you say anything about the road trips to different cities?  

Well, we had a horrendous one...overall they were pretty good...but we had a bus that...I don't know if the gear lube was thick or what...but a lot of times in cold weather we had trouble with the shifting of the gears. I mean we had Wayne McQuaig driving the bus at 6'2" 220 pounds and then we had Ronny Johnson about 180 pounds...and the two of them...on one of our trips...the two of them were shifting gears at the same time. The driver had one hand on the shift...Wayne...and Ronny had two hands on it and he was trying to go from gear to gear. That's how stiff it was.

(Again...look forward to the retelling of "The Bus Trip to Thunder Bay")

Literally thousand of people from Marquette County think of that team as 
very special. Why do you think that is so?

Well we...we were successful. We won. You know, we won...I don't know how many championships we won in the five or six years that I played. I think we won the league three or four times. So, again, when you're successful people like to come and watch you. They remember it. I mean there were some wild times, there was a little bit of everything. There was some great hockey players who played in the league. There was some rough hockey, and 
there were a lot of things that happened that people remember. We had a lot of people who really liked the fighting. I think the fighting and the hockey made for good entertainment.


Minorities were never involved with the team in any way?

I don't think we ever had a minority on the team. I don't even remember one in the league. In Junior Hockey I played against the first black player to ever play in the NHL: Willie O'Ree. I played Junior hockey against him.

Nice.

Yeah. I forget who he played for, but I was in Hamilton, Ontario at the time. Willie was fast...could skate with the best of them. He took a lot of abuse. He put up with a lot, and he led the way for a lot of black guys that should be thankful for him.

Wow.

What do you remember about actually playing the games?

After leaving Green Bay I wanted to show them that they made a mistake in letting me go.  In our first two games of that season-we won 14 to 3 and 8 to 6-I was so fired up that I ended up getting 14 points in two games.  Five goals and nine assists.


Any specific memories about the Palestra?

Well just...like I mentioned...the stands being so close. The ice being so good...hard...dry. It didn't take a long time to freeze between periods. When you had snow on the ice it was nice and light, not wet and slushy. So the passes would still be pretty accurate, rather than
trying to go through some wet heavy snow. And the coldness: It was nice to play in. I know how it is having been in some of these rinks, and as a coach or spectator it's not fun. But as a player they like it, because you recuperate faster. Like I used to hate playing in Green Bay, because they'd have the heat on. And it was a warm, dry rink...you got thirsty...and 
dehydrated faster. I never drank water during the game. You were supposed to, but I never did. Once I started I couldn't stop, I just kept drinking it.  I tried it a few times and didn't like it.  I would make sure I drank a lot of water before the game. But once I got to Marquette, in the Palestra, it didn't matter.

Can you say anything about the coaching of the team?

A lot of credit for our success should go to Oakie Brumm.  He had a lot of good players to work with but sometimes that's not easy.  He kept us in line, worked us hard, and success followed.

* Many thanks to this all-time great who took the time out of a busy practice schedule to share these memories and information.