Windsor Locks Coaching Legend Passes Away

WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — Dan Sullivan, a legendary coach at Windsor Locks High School who garnered seven state championships in his nearly four-decade tenure, passed away Monday. He was 83.

The longtime West Suffield resident graduated from Suffield High School in 1953, earning 16 varsity letters and serving as class president all four years. After a year of prep school at Wilbraham Academy, where he earned three varsity letters and received the Sportsmanship Award, he enrolled at Springfield College.

Sullivan was a member of the 1957 national championship soccer team at Springfield, earning first team All-New England and first team All-American honors. He also was a member of the basketball and baseball teams.

Upon graduation in 1960, he came to Windsor Locks High School to start a soccer program. He also coached varsity basketball and baseball for the next 39 years.

His soccer teams won six state championships: Class M in 1963, 1964, 1070 and 1971, and Class S in 1990 and 1994. They also were state runners-up on three occasions, and captured 12 league titles.

Sullivan's 1966 baseball team won the Class M state championship, as well as numerous league titles. On the basketball court, he guided the Raiders to five league championships, including a state runner-up finish in 1988.

Over the course of his high school coaching career, his teams amassed 1,276 victories.

Sullivan's list of personal accolades is incredibly long. A partial list includes:

• Connecticut Soccer Coach of the Year, 1970
• Nutmeg State Games “Living Legends Award”, 1991
• Gold Key Award, Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance, 1994
• Connecticut High School Coaches Hall of Fame, 1995
• National High School Coaches Hall of Fame, 1996
• Regional High School Soccer Coach of the Year, 1996
• CCSOA Hugh Greer Distinguished Service Award, 1998
• CSCA George Ritchie Sportsmanship Award, 1998
• Connecticut High School Coaches Award, Outstanding Basketball Coach of the Year, 1998
• National High School Coaches Hall of Fame, 2001
• Connecticut Soccer Hall of Fame, 2002
• Suffield High School Hall of Fame, 2002
• Windsor Locks Athletic Hall of Fame, 2005

Dave Farr, longtime baseball coach in Windsor Locks and a fellow inductee into the Windsor Locks Athletic Hall of Fame, first met Sullivan as a 12-year-old middle school student, and spent a considerable amount of time helping care for his mentor during the final year of his life.

"He coached me in baseball and soccer, and later I taught six years at the high school with him," Farr said. "He was a medic in the Army and always instilled respect for the flag in his players. He also instilled in them to respect the other team, the referees and teachers. He was a consummate sportsman."

Bob Bromage, who coached against Sullivan in both basketball and baseball for many years while at Enfield High School, called him "an institution" in northern Connecticut sports.

"He was a great competitor, and always wanted his teams to play superbly," Bromage said. "He wanted them to excel and for every kid to give everything he could give, and he got it out of them. He coached three sports, and had a level of expertise in each one."

Funeral arrangements have not yet been completed.

Photos courtesy of Windsor Locks Athletic Hall of Fame and Connecticut Sports Writers' Alliance

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