Anderson, "Sparky" (George L.)

Baseball

b. Feb. 22, 1934, Bridgewater, SD

Like many successful major league managers, Anderson was not particularly successful as a player. He batted just .218 with the Philadelphia Phillies in 1959, his only season in the major leagues, and spent five years as a minor league manager before taking over the Cincinnati Reds in 1970.

A virtual unknown when he arrived, Anderson guided the "Big Red Machine" to four pennants in seven seasons, including consecutive World Series victories in 1975 and 1976. With Cincinnati, he was nicknamed "Captain Hook" because he was so quick to replace pitchers.

Fired in 1979 after two consecutive second-place finishes, Anderson took over the Detroit Tigers. He was named the AL manager of the year by the Baseball Writers' Association of America in 1984, when the Tigers won the Eastern Division with a 104-58 record and went on to win the World Series, taking 7 of 8 post-season games in the process.

The Tigers won another division title and Anderson was consensus manager of the year in 1987. However, Detroit lost in the American League championship series.

Anderson retired after the 1995 season. He ranks 3rd all-time in career victories, 20th in winning percentage.

His overall record was 2192-1834 for a .547 percentage in the regular season and 34-21, a .618 winning percentage, in post-season play.