An old PHS yearbook photo of Mr. Sullivan.

Most people knew him as a great football coach, but he was a great teacher, too.”

Ron Winter

PORTSMOUTH — Ray Sullivan wasn’t only the first Portsmouth High School football coach, he was a special kind of teacher as well, say those who played for him and sat in his classroom.

That’s why many of them want the main athletic field at PHS, long named after John F. Kennedy, rechristened as “Ray Sullivan Field.”

“He was a great teacher and friend. If anybody needed to talk to him, he was there for everybody,” Tony Reise, Class of 1966, said of Mr. Sullivan, who passed away in December 2015 at the age of 80.

On behalf of his class, Mr. Reise will be formally making the request for the name change to the School Committee on Tuesday night, June 14. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. in the middle school auditorium. (You can view the full agenda here.)

Mr. Reise said it only makes sense to name the field after Mr. Sullivan. He noted that the baseball field at PHS is named after Robert Crudup, the longtime teacher and school administrator who passed away in 2014. 

“Coach Marshall was the best football coach we’ve ever had,” he said, referring to Richard "Foxy" Marshall, who led the PHS varsity football team to six state Super Bowl titles in the '80s and '90s.

“But Ray Sullivan was the first.”

In the early days, Mr. Sullivan was football at PHS, said Mr. Reise, a former defensive/offensive end and fullback who can still fit into his football letterman’s jacket. “We were juniors — there were no seniors at the time — and we were undefeated, our first year. We were good athletes.”

Three years later the football squad would go on to win Portsmouth High’s first state championship in any sport, when players took home the Class C title in 1968.

Always there to listen

Besides starting up the football program at PHS, Mr. Sullivan was also an inspiring history teacher and someone you could always count on for advice or to just to lend an ear, said Ron Winter, another former football player and member of the Class of 1966.

“He was our first class advisor — a great mentor and friend to us and anybody who knew him. Most people knew him as a great football coach, but he was a great teacher, too,” said Mr. Winter, who lives in Michigan but is flying in for Tuesday’s meeting.

Mr. Sullivan didn’t just teach from a textbook, he said. 

“He was like, ‘What did we learn from that? How does that apply today?’” said Mr. Winter.

Mr. Sullivan was also “mentally tough,” he said.

“He knew exactly what was going on and would take you after class and explain things to you,” said Mr. Winter, adding that Mr. Sullivan often told the boys the proper way to treat the girls, and would pull them aside whenever they did something wrong. 

Before school dances, he’d tell his kids they had to guarantee there’d be no smoking or drinking on school property — and they listened, Mr. Winter said. 

“We told him, ‘It won’t happen.’ None of that happened; it built trust. He wanted to take you to the water, but you had to drink it.”

The PHS mascot was even born of the teacher’s leadership, according to Mr. Winter.

“When I was a sophomore or junior, we got a new high school,” he said. “(Mr. Sullivan said), ‘What are we going to be? Portsmouth Panthers? Portsmouth Pirates?’ Well, he planted that seed.”

Students held meetings and followed Robert’s Rules of Order, under Mr. Sullivan’s guidance. 

“We voted ‘Portsmouth Patriots.’ That’s history,” said Mr. Winter.

Big turnout expected

Mr Reise, who expects a large turnout of former classmates at the school board meeting, is hoping for the best.

“We’re going to make this work if we can,” he said. “We don’t understand politics, but I am smart enough to know the school board makes the decision. We can only make a recommendation.”

Getting the field renamed after their coach and mentor would be a fitting way for the Class of 1966 to celebrate its Golden Anniversary this year, said Mr. Reise.

The big 50th reunion day is Sept. 9, when the PHS varsity football team hosts Rogers.

“Hopefully we’ll have a good showing, and the 50th anniversary party is the next day at the Officer’s Club in Newport,” he said.