Anderson, Sparky

Sparky Anderson, byname of George Lee Anderson, (born February 22, 1934, Bridgewater, South Dakota, U.S.—died November 4, 2010, Thousand Oaks, California), American professional baseball manager who had a career record of 2,194 wins and 1,834 losses and led his teams to three World Series titles (1975, 1976, and 1984).

Anderson spent six years playing in baseball’s minor leagues before being called up to the majors to play second base for the Philadelphia Phillies in 1959. He returned to the minor leagues the following year, where he played another four seasons. Realizing his opportunities for returning to the big leagues were limited, Anderson began to explore a career as manager: between 1964 and 1968 he managed five different minor league clubs. In 1969 he returned to the major leagues as a coach for the San Diego Padres.

Sparky Anderson and Joe Morgan

Anderson was named manager of the Cincinnati Reds in 1970 and led the team to the National League (NL) title in his first season. In his nine years with the Reds, his teams won five National League pennants and two World Series championships (1975 and 1976). During this period, Cincinnati’s “Big Red Machine” featured future Hall of Fame members Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, and Johnny Bench, as well as the major league’s career hits leader, Pete Rose. The Reds were one of the dominant teams of the 1970s, and the 1975 team is considered one of the best of all time. Anderson was fired at the end of the 1978 season after the Reds placed second in the NL West in consecutive seasons.

In 1979 Anderson moved to the American League (AL) to manage the Detroit Tigers, whom he led for 17 seasons before retiring in 1995. In 1984 the Tigers won 104 games and the World Series, and Anderson became the first manager in the history of baseball to win a World Series championship in both the National and American leagues. Anderson was selected as a Manager of the Year on four occasions: twice for the NL (1972 and 1974) and twice for the AL (1984 and 1987). He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, in 2000.