Sparky Anderson

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Sparky Anderson

Baseball Player + Manager

Male

Born Feb 22, 1934

Died Nov 4, 2010

Death Place Thousand Oaks

Team Philadelphia Phil...

Position Second baseman / ...

Other Names Anderson, George Lee

George Lee "Sparky" Anderson was an American Major League Baseball manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third title in 1984 with the Detroit Tigers of the American League. He was the… Read More

Photos

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News + Updates

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Frank H. Wu: The Practicing Professor
Huffington Post - Feb 14, 2013

There are no new debates. The latest argument about the legal academy seems to be whether law schools ought to hire as professors those individuals with established careers in practice instead of intellectuals who boast extraordinary potential for publishing. This is old, old, old. Jerome Frank, a New Deal official who became a federal judge, proposed before World War II that law schools be staffed by practitioners. A "Legal Realist" with an academic bent, Judge Frank anticipate...
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The Airing Of This Controversial 1980s Sitcom Pilot Drew Protest
Huffington Post - Jan 29, 2013

Sure, Hamtramck city council meetings can get a little hairy sometimes -- and the multi-ethnic working-class Detroit enclave certainly doesn't hurt for local color. But would the city make for good television? Although it might sound crazy, this actually happened in the late 1980s. During those carefree days of teased hair and stonewashed jeans, a pilot for a sitcom called "Hamtramck" was produced and aired by news station WDIV. A HuffPost staffer recently unearthed footage of t...
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David Macaray: 25 Funny Baseball Quotes
Huffington Post - Oct 30, 2012

Whenever I come across a baseball quote that makes me smile, I jot it down and file it away. I've been filing them away, off and on, for the last 25 or 30 years. Some of the quotes included here are fairly well known, others are obscure. 1. "If you know how to cheat, start now."--Baltimore manager Earl Weaver, to pitcher Ross Grimsley on the mound. 2. "People think we make $3 million or $4 million a year. They don't realize that most of us only make $500,000."--Pete Incavi...
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Jim Leyland And Detroit: A Good Match
San Francisco Chronicle - Oct 28, 2012

Jim Leyland and Detroit: a good match Associated Press Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Updated 12:17 a.m., Sunday, October 28, 2012 Jim Leyland's career in professional baseball got a jolt when the franchise that gave him his start offered him another shot. The Detroit Tigers put Leyland back in the dugout six years ago after employing him ...
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Timeline

Learn about the memorable moments in the evolution of Sparky Anderson.

CHILDHOOD

1934 Birth Anderson was born in Bridgewater, South Dakota, on February 22, 1934. … Read More

TEENAGE

1951 17 Years Old Sparky's American Legion Team won the 1951 National Championship, which was played in Briggs Stadium (Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. … Read More

TWENTIES

1955 21 Years Old In, Anderson was moved another step up the minor league ladder, playing for the Double-A Fort Worth Cats of the Texas League. A radio announcer gave him the nickname "Sparky" in 1955 for his feisty play. … Read More

1958 24 Years Old After five minor league seasons without appearing in a Dodger uniform at the MLB level, he was traded to the Philadelphia Phillies on December 23, 1958 for three players, including outfielder Rip Repulski.

1959 25 Years Old The Phillies gave Anderson their starting second base job, and he spent what would be his one full season in the major leagues in 1959. … Read More

THIRTIES

1964 - 1965 2 More Events

1969 35 Years Old 2 More Events

He made his way back to the majors in 1969 as the third-base coach of the San Diego Padres during their maiden season in the National League.

1970 36 Years Old Since he was a relative unknown in the sports world, headlines on the day after his hiring read "Sparky Who?" Nonetheless, Anderson led the Reds to 102 wins and the National League pennant in, although they lost the 1970 World Series in five games to the Baltimore Orioles. … Read More

1971 37 Years Old After an injury-plagued 1971 season in which the team finished fifth, the Reds came back and won another pennant under Anderson in 1972, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates in the NLCS, but losing to the Oakland Athletics in the World Series. … Read More

FORTIES

1975 41 Years Old 1 More Event

… He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third title in 1984 with the Detroit Tigers of the American League. … Read More

1978 44 Years Old When the aging Reds finished second to the Dodgers in each of the next two seasons, Anderson was fired on November 27, 1978 by general manager Dick Wagner, who had taken over for Howsam a year earlier. … Read More

FIFTIES

1984 - 1986 2 More Events

1987 53 Years Old Anderson led the Tigers to the majors' best record in 1987, but the team was upset in the ALCS by the Minnesota Twins. … Read More

1989 55 Years Old During that 1989 season, Anderson took a month-long leave of absence from the team as the stress of losing wore on him. … Read More

1992 58 Years Old On September 27, 1992, the Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians 13–3 for Anderson's 1,132nd win with the team, passing Hughie Jennings as the all-time leader in wins by a Tiger manager. … Read More

LATE ADULTHOOD

1995 61 Years Old 1 More Event

Sparky Anderson George W. Bush Yogi Berra

Anderson retired from managing on October 2, 1995, reportedly disillusioned with the state of the league following the 1994 strike that had also delayed the beginning of the 1995 season.

1996 62 Years Old From 1996 to 1998, he was a color analyst for the Anaheim Angels' cable television broadcasts. … Read More

2000 66 Years Old 2 More Events

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum

Anderson was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.

2006 72 Years Old 2 More Events

On June 17, 2006, Anderson's number was retired by the Fort Worth Cats, for whom Anderson had played in 1955.

2007 73 Years Old In 2007, Anderson was elected to the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame. … Read More

2010 76 Years Old 1 More Event

On November 3, 2010, it was announced that Anderson had been placed in hospice care at his Thousand Oaks home because of his deteriorating dementia condition.

Original Authors of this text are noted on http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sparky_Anderson.
Text is made available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.