Billy Sullivan
Catcher · Career Stats, Bio & Records (1899-1916)
Billy Sullivan was a catcher who played in Major League Baseball from 1899 to 1916 for the Boston Braves, the Chicago White Sox, and the Detroit Tigers, a span of 18 seasons. In 1,147 career games, he hit .213 with 777 hits, 21 home runs, and 378 RBI.
- AVG (Batting Average):
- Hits divided by at bats. .300 is the traditional mark of an excellent hitter.
- HR (Home Runs):
- Hits on which the batter circled the bases and scored, almost always by clearing the outfield fence.
- RBI (Runs Batted In):
- Runs that scored as a direct result of a batter's plate appearance.
- OPS (On-Base Plus Slugging):
- On-base percentage plus slugging percentage, the quickest single summary of offensive value. .900 or better is star-level.
Data updated
- Position
- Catcher
- Bats / Throws
- R / R
- Height / Weight
- 5'9" / 155 lb
- Died
- 1/28/1965 in Newberg, OR, USA
- MLB Debut
- 1899-09-13
- Last Game
- 1916-04-15
Full name: William Joseph Sullivan
Career Batting Statistics
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1,147 | 3,647 | 363 | 777 | 119 | 33 | 21 | 378 | 98 | 170 | 565 | .213 | .254 | .281 | .535 | -9,490 |
Career AVG .213 vs. league average .256 across their career seasons — 16.9% below league average.
Career OBP .254 vs. league average .318 across their career seasons — 20.0% below league average.
Career SLG .281 vs. league average .335 across their career seasons — 16.0% below league average.
Career OPS .535 vs. league average .652 across their career seasons — 17.9% below league average.
Season-by-Season Batting
Click a stat to plot it across every season.
| Year | Team | Lg | G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | SB | BB | SO | AVG | Lg AVG | Lg OBP | Lg SLG | Lg OPS | PIV |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1899 | BSN | NL | 22 | 74 | 10 | 20 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 8 | .270 | .282 (-4%) | .343 (-10%) | .366 (+3%) | .710 (-3%) | -47.2 |
| 1900 | BSN | NL | 72 | 238 | 36 | 65 | 6 | 0 | 8 | 41 | 4 | 9 | 33 | .273 | .279 (-2%) | .338 (-11%) | .366 (+9%) | .705 (avg) | -70.4 |
| 1901 | CHA | AL | 98 | 367 | 54 | 90 | 15 | 6 | 4 | 56 | 12 | 10 | 38 | .245 | .271 (-10%) | .326 (-17%) | .359 (-2%) | .686 (-9%) | -626.5 |
| 1902 | CHA | AL | 76 | 263 | 36 | 64 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 26 | 11 | 6 | 32 | .243 | .266 (-9%) | .321 (-17%) | .343 (-6%) | .665 (-11%) | -499.4 |
| 1903 | CHA | AL | 32 | 111 | 10 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 3 | 5 | 13 | .189 | .261 (-28%) | .316 (-29%) | .345 (-27%) | .662 (-28%) | -469.7 |
| 1904 | CHA | AL | 108 | 371 | 29 | 85 | 18 | 4 | 1 | 44 | 11 | 12 | 50 | .229 | .246 (-7%) | .300 (-15%) | .321 (-4%) | .622 (-10%) | -593.5 |
| 1905 | CHA | AL | 98 | 323 | 25 | 65 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 26 | 14 | 13 | 54 | .201 | .248 (-19%) | .307 (-22%) | .322 (-17%) | .629 (-19%) | -933.8 |
| 1906 | CHA | AL | 118 | 387 | 37 | 83 | 18 | 4 | 2 | 33 | 10 | 22 | 67 | .214 | .247 (-13%) | .307 (-15%) | .315 (-6%) | .622 (-10%) | -626.7 |
| 1907 | CHA | AL | 112 | 329 | 30 | 59 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 36 | 6 | 21 | 69 | .179 | .245 (-27%) | .304 (-23%) | .308 (-26%) | .613 (-24%) | -1132.0 |
| 1908 | CHA | AL | 137 | 430 | 40 | 82 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 29 | 15 | 22 | 62 | .191 | .240 (-21%) | .298 (-21%) | .306 (-26%) | .605 (-23%) | -1393.0 |
| 1909 | CHA | AL | 97 | 265 | 11 | 43 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 9 | 17 | 50 | .162 | .244 (-34%) | .306 (-26%) | .312 (-44%) | .618 (-35%) | -1258.9 |
| 1910 | CHA | AL | 45 | 142 | 10 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 7 | 26 | .183 | .249 (-27%) | .317 (-29%) | .326 (-31%) | .644 (-30%) | -631.3 |
| 1911 | CHA | AL | 89 | 256 | 26 | 55 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 1 | 16 | 47 | .215 | .266 (-19%) | .336 (-21%) | .356 (-23%) | .693 (-22%) | -906.2 |
| 1912 | CHA | AL | 41 | 91 | 9 | 19 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 16 | .209 | .268 (-22%) | .335 (-14%) | .358 (-30%) | .694 (-22%) | -301.3 |
| 1914 | CHA | AL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| 1916 | DET | AL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | 0.0 |
| Career · 16 seasons | 1,147 | 3,647 | 363 | 777 | 119 | 33 | 21 | 378 | 98 | 170 | 565 | .213 | — | — | — | — | -9,490 | ||
Lg columns show the league average for that season, with the player's figure as a percentage above or below it. Career totals the seasons listed above.
Game Log & Splits
View full game log (1148 games) →Per-game data from Retrosheet (regular season, through 2025).
Batting — Home / Away
| Split | G | AB | R | H | HR | RBI | AVG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home | 592 | 1823 | 189 | 405 | 10 | 202 | .222 |
| Away | 556 | 1816 | 172 | 370 | 11 | 185 | .204 |
Last 10 Games — Batting
| Date | Tm | Opp | Res | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1916-04-15 | DET | CHW | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1914-05-04 | CHW | SLA | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1912-10-04 | CHW | DET | W | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 1912-10-02 | CHW | DET | W | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 1912-09-28 | CHW | SLA | L | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| 1912-09-24 | CHW | SLA | W | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1912-09-19 | CHW | PHA | W | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 1912-09-03 | CHW | DET | L | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1912-08-10 | CHW | PHA | L | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1912-08-05 | CHW | MIN | L | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Fielding Statistics
Career Fielding Totals by Position
| Position | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1B | 4 | 2 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 2B | 2 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 0 | 2 |
| 3B | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| C | 1122 | 683 | 4776 | 1314 | 148 | 111 |
| OF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| SS | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
Season-by-Season Fielding
| Year | Team | Pos | G | GS | PO | A | E | DP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1899 | BSN | C | 22 | 0 | 94 | 26 | 6 | 3 |
| 1900 | BSN | 2B | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 |
| 1900 | BSN | C | 66 | 0 | 227 | 71 | 8 | 10 |
| 1900 | BSN | SS | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 |
| 1901 | CHA | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1901 | CHA | C | 97 | 0 | 396 | 104 | 17 | 13 |
| 1902 | CHA | 1B | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1902 | CHA | C | 70 | 0 | 242 | 81 | 11 | 8 |
| 1902 | CHA | OF | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1903 | CHA | C | 31 | 0 | 123 | 35 | 2 | 1 |
| 1904 | CHA | C | 107 | 107 | 463 | 130 | 22 | 10 |
| 1905 | CHA | 1B | 2 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1905 | CHA | 3B | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1905 | CHA | C | 92 | 89 | 389 | 104 | 13 | 8 |
| 1906 | CHA | C | 118 | 116 | 475 | 134 | 16 | 7 |
| 1907 | CHA | 2B | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| 1907 | CHA | C | 108 | 106 | 477 | 117 | 10 | 12 |
| 1908 | CHA | C | 137 | 133 | 553 | 156 | 11 | 11 |
| 1909 | CHA | C | 97 | 90 | 452 | 119 | 10 | 6 |
| 1910 | CHA | C | 45 | 42 | 290 | 71 | 9 | 5 |
| 1911 | CHA | C | 89 | 0 | 447 | 114 | 8 | 13 |
| 1912 | CHA | C | 41 | 0 | 147 | 52 | 5 | 4 |
| 1914 | CHA | C | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1916 | DET | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Career Games by Position
Circle size = games played at each position.
| Position | Games |
|---|---|
| Catcher | 1119 |
| First Base | 6 |
| Second Base | 2 |
| Third Base | 2 |
| Shortstop | 1 |
| Left Field | 1 |
| Right Field | 1 |
Awards & Honors
| Year | Award | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1909 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | C2 |
| 1908 | Baseball Magazine All-Star | C |
Most Similar Players
Career comps based on counting + rate stats and primary position. Score is relative — closest peer anchors at ~98%.
Billy Sullivan (highlighted) compared to peers across the same era.
Billy Sullivan: the record in brief
The profile opens with Billy Sullivan's first major league game on September 13, 1899; the last one listed came on April 15, 1916. Club by club, the record runs the Boston Beaneaters (1899 through 1900), the Chicago White Sox (1901 through 1914), and the Detroit Tigers (1916). Sullivan, born on February 1, 1875, in Oakland, WI, USA, is listed as a catcher and threw and hit right-handed. The bio gives 5-foot-9 and 155 pounds. Sullivan's death is recorded on January 28, 1965, in Newberg, OR, USA. The bio lists the given name William Joseph.
Sullivan's career batting table shows 1,147 games, 3,647 at bats and 777 hits, a .213 average, along with 21 homers, 378 RBI, and 98 stolen bases. Sullivan got on base at a .254 rate and slugged .281 (.535 OPS). Measured against the leagues Sullivan played in, the .213 career average compares with a .256 league average over the same seasons, 16.9% below the league. In OPS terms, Sullivan's .535 stands 17.9% below the league's .652. 1901 produced Sullivan's most hits, 90 of them for the Chicago White Sox.
Frequently Asked Questions about Billy Sullivan
- What years did Billy Sullivan play?
- Billy Sullivan played in Major League Baseball from 1899 to 1916.
- Was Billy Sullivan a pitcher?
- No. Billy Sullivan was a position player (Catcher).
- How many home runs did Billy Sullivan hit?
- Billy Sullivan hit 21 career home runs with 777 hits.
- What was Billy Sullivan's career batting average?
- Billy Sullivan batted .213 over his career, with 777 hits in 3,647 at bats.
- How many RBI did Billy Sullivan have?
- Billy Sullivan drove in 378 runs in his career.
- Is Billy Sullivan in the Hall of Fame?
- No. Billy Sullivan has not been inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.