Iron Ranger Profile No. 7
Gerry Sullivan
"Sully"

Marquette Mirror. January 20, 1971

"When Sully gets the puck he makes things happen", so stated John McInnes, the
veteran and highly successful hockey coach at Michigan tech University. As it
turns out, this could be one of the understatements of the decade, as far a 
Marquette Iron Ranger Hockey is concerned. Because ever since Gerald Sullivan joined the team
in the fall of 1967..."things have been happening'. The biggest "thing", of
course is the two straight U.S.H.L League Championships, and the outstanding record
this season of 18-4-1. In Sully's first season, the Rangers finished second
to a very strong Waterloo team but not until he had made believers out of
all the Marquette players and fans. He finished the season by being named the team's Most Valuable Player 
by his teammates. What is especially unusual about this is that Sully had some
very big shoes to fill in the person of Bob Cox. Cox had been the Rangers' center for the
first three seasons and was one of the best playmakers and scorers in the League.
Sully not only filled his shoes but went above and beyond the call of duty. The big
thing about Sully is his desire when the going is tough, his conditioning, and
his ability to backcheck. It is this desire and ability that has led to Sully
being the League Scoring Champion on several occasions. Right now he is described
in every league city as being the best player in the U.S.H.L, and there are no
dissenting voices. Many hockey buffs, in the Canadian cities especially, cannot figure out 
why Sully is not in the National Hockey League when he is better than some of
the players who are. It is certainly Marquette's gain that he is not. Not only
does he put the puck in the net but he sets up so many of the scores that his linemate Ozzie O'Neill 
make up the best penalty-killing combination ever seen in these parts and many times they have
scored when the opposition has had the power play on. The consistency of this act alone
describes the tenacity of the two, and if there is anything that will take the wind out of a 
team's sails, it is being scored on when they have a manpower advantage.

Sully's long history of hockey began in the copper mining town of Noranda, Quebec, in the
late 1940's when he was a very small and young boy. He showed enough promise then to be taken
to the very strong Hamilton Juniors of the highly regarded Ontario Junior Hockey Association. While
there he was spotted by several pro scouts but decided on a college career and education at Michigan 
Tech University. After laying three years for Tech, where he graduated in 1963, he was also
the leading scorer, Most Valuable Player, and All-American. He decided to try
coaching in Finland, which he did for two years. When he returned to this
country he became a member of the Green Bay Bobcats but failed to come to contract
terms and sat out the last half of the 1966-67 season. The next season he came to
Marquette and started to make "hockey history".

Since his arrival in Marquette, Sully has obtained another degree from NMU and has
taken a position at Marquette senior High School. In addition to this, he is also the General Manager 
of the Iron Rangers throughout the complete calendar year. In this capacity he takes the
burden of off-season details and in-season contract talks, travel arrangements, equipment
needs, etc. from team President Bob Hoppe and Coach Oakie Brumm, both of whom
find their personal business life too demanding time wise to handle this job as they did 
previously. Needless to say this arrangement has worked out extremely well for all
concerned.

Sully is married to the former Nancy Erickson of Hancock, Michigan, and they are the parents of 
two girls, Margaret and Susan, and a boy, Mike.  Nancy and their two daughters are naturally
great hockey fans and eagerly look forward to each game so that they can cheer on their
favorite husband, father, and player. They really have something to cheer about because he is, 
without a doubt, the best player in the History of Marquette Hockey since the
original "Ching" Johnson was here in 1941. In our book he is the best of all time
because he is the best of the best team ever here. The one and only Gerry Sullivan!