Background
O'Sullivan grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and was introduced to soccer while living in La Honda.
O'Sullivan grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and was introduced to soccer while living in La Honda.
O'Sullivan attended the Woodside Priory School in Portola Valley and was named All American his senior year.
His first team was the La Honda Bandits which played in the Northern California division of the American Soccer Organization (AYSO). O'Sullivan attended Chico State University where he played on the men's soccer team as a starter for all four years playing in the first Collegiate Division Two Soccer Championship. In 1976, Seattle Sounders selected O'Sullivan in the first round of the North American Soccer League draft.
In 1977, he signed with the Houston Hurricane, playing three outdoor seasons. He also went on loan with the Houston Summit of the Major Indoor Soccer League for two indoor seasons. He played 3 seasons with the Memphis Americans retiring from professional soccer in 1984.
O'Sullivan's father, Tommy, was one of the founding members of the Northern California division of the AYSO. O'Sullivan was a member of the 1976 Olympic Soccer Team playing in several international matches and qualifying games and a member of the U.S. National 'B' Team in 1977 which travelled and played in South Korea.