They Called Him One...

Well we will get to that later. Shawn Sullivan A.K.A Sully, only about two years apart in age, however running in the same circles we seemed to always be on opposite sites in sports. He was a guard in basketball and I was a small forward/guard and we always seem to have the job of guarding each other. Sometimes it was not pretty as we spent a lot of time pushing and shoving and fouling each other, however after the game we could enjoy a beer together and swap stories of our individual triumphs.

In the summer, we played rec league softball on opposite teams. Sully played short stop on a team sponsored by a national fast food restaurant that may or may not have served a Big MAC, or was in the Big Mic? I played short stop for a team sponsored by a small-town insurance company.  

Over the years, we became very good friends and enjoyed the rivalry of our athletics as well as simply hanging out.  While I could not help Sully much with his insurance needs, Sully was most helpful at making me look like a God when I pulled through the drive through at McDowell’s. When he took the order, he would always have me pull over to wait for the order and when run the order out to my car himself. The bag would always contain extra burgers and a hug sack of extra fries making me a hero in the eyes of my buddies and a big man in the eyes of a date.

One Friday evening Sully’s and my team we playing in the rec softball league and Sully led off the inning with a single.  The next batter hit a ground ball to me which I bobbled a second, made a quick pivot and fired a throw to second base just as Sully was sliding in. The second basemen was late getting to the bag and my throw was low and right into the groin of Sully. I head a large “Pop” and a quick scream followed by a guttural grown.

We all gathered around Sully while he withered in pain in the dirt. There was not much we could do except wait and then help him from the field. Later that night while we were sitting having a beer Sans Sully I heard they took him to the hospital and had to remove one of his testicles!  Yes and now you know the rest of the story of “They Called Him One Nut Sully.”

Actually, I never called him that and was a little upset by the incident. I saw him a week later for the first time and he walked up to me and said, “Thanks a lot,” in a little squeaky made up voice. We both smiled and that was that.

We competed against each other for a couple more years and then drifted away and lost touch. I did hear  years later that he was happily married and had two kids. So I guess some guys can do more with one nut than some can with two.

Cheers
The Professor