Sparky Anderson
| Birthdate | 2/22/1934 |
| Death Date | 11/4/2010 |
| Debut Year | 1970 |
| Year of Induction | 2000 |
| Teams | Reds, Tigers |
| Positions | Manager, Second Base |
Sparky Anderson was the 1st manager to guide two different teams to 100 wins and the first to pilot clubs from both leagues to World Series wins.
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Before becoming a manager, Sparky Anderson was an infielder for 11 professional seasons
Before becoming a manager, Sparky Anderson was an infielder for 11 professional seasons
Sparky Anderson began his professional baseball career as a second baseman in the Dodger organization. Signed by Brooklyn as a teenager, Anderson’s first pro season was in 1953 for the Dodger C-Level team in Santa Barbara.
In the collection is this letter written by a 20-year old Anderson to longtime Dodger executive Fresco Thompson in 1954. Anderson asks about the Colombian Winter League that’s due to start in mid-October.
The youngster writes about his eagerness to make arrangements for a passport for travel. Three months shy of his 21st birthday, Sparky has signed his full legal name, “George Lee Anderson”.
Anderson played 11 pro seasons, one at the Major League level with the Phillies. That came in 1959 when he hit .218 in 152 games with the big club. From there, Anderson played for the Triple-A Toronto Maple Leafs.
Immediately after Sparky ended his playing career, he immediately began managing. His first season as a pilot came in 1964 with the same Toronto team he played for the year before.
In 1965 Cardinals General Manager Bob Howsam hired Anderson to manage the Single-A Rock Hill Cardinals. He remained in the St. Louis organization through the ’68 season.
In 1969 Anderson was hired by the expansion San Diego Padres as third base coach. By then, Howsam had moved to Cincinnati to become the Reds GM.
On October 8, 1969, Howsam shocked the baseball world by appointing the 35-year old Anderson as skipper of the Reds. The move paid immediate dividend. In 1970 Cincinnati won 102 games and the National League pennant.
During his nine years with the Reds, Sparky’s team finished first or second eight times. The run included four NL pennants and two World Series championships.
Cincinnati won 92 games in ’78 to finish 2 1/2 games behind the Dodgers. The Reds fired Sparky at the end of the season. In mid-June the following year the Tigers came calling for his services.
Sparky led Detroit for the next 17 years. The highlight of his time with the Tigers in 1984. That season the Tigers began the year with nine straight wins. Forty games into the season their record stood at 35-5. Detroit led the division the whole way to become the first team since the ’27 Yankees to lead wire-to-wire on their way to a ring.
Autographs from this early in his professional career remain exceedingly difficult to find.
Sparky Anderson let the Reds to four pennants and two World Series triumphs in the 1970s
Sparky Anderson let the Reds to four pennants and two World Series triumphs in the 1970s
Sparky Anderson is remembered for his three World Series championship teams, the ’75 and ’76 Reds and the ’84 Tigers. Some forget that he managed two other pennant winning teams in Cincinnati.
Anderson took the helm of the Reds in 1970 and pushed them to the World Series where they dropped a five-game tilt to the Orioles. In 1972 Cincinnati was back in the Fall Classic, this time against Charlie Finley’s Oakland Athletics.
Led by Series MVP Gene Tenace’s four home runs, the A’s beat the Reds in seven.
In the collection is this letter from baseball commissioner Bowie Kuhn. Baseball’s chief recounts the Fall Classic’s place in the American culture.
“The World Series is the premier event of American Sports.
“No other event has been able to capture it’s special appeal or match its magnificent history.”
The Hall of Fame executive later writes of the 1971 seven-game thriller. His final sentence alludes to Anderson’s second trip to the Fall Classic.
“To our loyal fans, I dedicate the 1972 World Series.”
Sparky's Reds and the Dodgers were the top two NL teams of the 1970s
Sparky's Reds and the Dodgers were the top two NL teams of the 1970s
Sparky Anderson managed the Reds from 1970-1978. During that time the Big Red Machine battled the Dodgers for supremacy in the National League for a NL West.
In every one of those seasons but 1971, either the Reds or the Dodgers came away as Western Division champs. Here the Hall of Fame skipper reflects on the rivalry and on Dodger skipper Walter Alston.
“The Dodger Reds rivalry was so good because both teams had so much talent,” Sparky writes. “Walter Alston was a great manager but far beyond that he was an outstanding person.”
Sparky won two World Series titles with the Reds
Sparky won two World Series titles with the Reds
When Reds General Manager Bob Howsam hired him in October ’69, Sparky Anderson was only 35 years old. In his first season, Sparky led Cincinnati to 102 wins and the National League championship.
By the time his tenure was over in Cincinnati, the Reds were winners of four pennants and two World Series titles. Sparky’s Reds went 863-586 overall, good for a .596 winning percentage. The nine-year run just might’ve been enough to catapult him to Cooperstown.
Sparky later solidified his Hall of Fame resume with the Tigers.
A month after the '75 triumph, Sparky & company went on a cruise
A month after the '75 triumph, Sparky & company went on a cruise
The Cincinnati Reds were the National League’s winningest teams of the 1970s. Known as the Big Red Machine, they won six division titles, four pennants, and two World Series titles. From 1970-1979 the averaged more than 95 wins per season.
Built by GM Bob Howsam, the Reds boasted future Hall of Famers at multiple positions and Cooperstown manager Sparky Anderson. Their zenith came in 1975 and ’76 when the won back-to-back titles.
The ’75 team won 108 games and finished 20 games ahead of the second-place Dodgers. Cincinnati swept Pittsburgh in the NLCS then defeated Boston in a thrilling seven-game Fall Classic.
A month after their triumph, Cunard Cruise Lines put together a promotional tour for the world champs. They offered an all-expenses-paid luxury cruise for Howsam, Anderson, players Johnny Bench, Pete Rose, Tony Perez, and announcer Marty Brennaman. To earn their keep, each man did a presentation and fielded questions from those who attended.
Shown here is the baseball itinerary from that cruise. It is signed by all seven Reds and authenticated by Beckett. The itinerary describes the Cincinnati skipper, “Sparky Anderson – Manager of the Big Red Machine, named Manager of the Year”.
The Reds pilot presented, “INSIDE THE WORLD SERIES – The inside story of the 1975 World Series from scouting the potential opponents to playing the games. Lean about Sparky Anderson’s pitching rotation strategy; front-office planning and the players’ tactics and reactions.”
Other on-board presentations included the following:
“BUILDING A BALL CLUB – Bob Howsom [sic], Sparky Anderson, and Marty Brennerman [sic], discuss how a team is put together; the influence of astro turf, recruiting, drafting, scouting, trading; from front office to dugout.”
“BASEBALL COMMUNICATIONS – (Signs and Signals) – the secrets of signs to and from the coaches such as ‘take’ vs. ‘hit’, ‘bunt’ vs. ‘hit’, and ‘steal’ (what about Joe Morgan on his own?). Defensive players station themselves according to the pitch called for.”
“PARA NUESTROS PASAJEROS QUE HABLAN ESPANOL – A special bi-lingual [sic] meeting with Tony Perez, Marty Brennerman [sic], and others will be held. This will be a question and answer session about major league baseball in North America and the role of Latin America players.”
Sparky managed 17 of his 26 years with the Detroit Tigers
Sparky managed 17 of his 26 years with the Detroit Tigers
Perhaps best remembered for his years as the pilot of the Big Red Machine, Sparky Anderson managed almost twice as many games as a Tiger. The 1984 season was his best in Detroit.
The Tigers opened the year 9-0 and 35-5. By guiding the team to 104 wins, Sparky became the first manager to win 100 games in a season with two different teams and obviously the first in two win 100 contests in two different leagues.
The 1984 Tigers became the first club since the 1927 Yanks to lead wire-to-wire while winning the World Series. Sparky would win Manager of the Year for the accomplishment, his first of two such awards with the Tigers.
Sparky Anderson earned three World Series rings, two with the Reds, one with the Tigers
Sparky Anderson earned three World Series rings, two with the Reds, one with the Tigers
Sparky Anderson had great success in his nine years as Reds manager. His teams had three second-place finishes and five division titles. With four NL pennants and two World Series titles in the 1970s, Sparky’s Reds were the Senior Circuit’s best team.
After a second-place finish in 1978, Cincinnati fired Anderson. He was out of a job until the Tigers came calling in June the following season. Sparky took the reins of a young club on the rise.
In 1984 it all came together in Detroit. The Tigers won their first nine games and 35 of their first 40. Sparky’s team led wire-to-wire and beat the Padres in the World Series.
The season solidified Anderson’s place in baseball history. He became the first skipper to lead teams in each league to 100 wins in a season. His World Series win gave him the distinction of being the first man to earn rings in each league.
Anderson was inducted to the Hall of Fame in 2000. His 2,194 career victories rank sixth all time as of 2020.
One of the more excitable managers in the history of baseball, Sparky pens a quote about inner peace here in this handwritten letter.
