Hey guys, Drew back here. If you didn't hear the news yet today, a great has left us today. Former Reds and Tigers manager Sparky Anderson has passed away at the age of 76. Anderson managed the Big Red Machine in the 1970's, with Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan, Tony Perez, and should be Hall of Famer Pete Rose. This team has been considered one of the best teams to ever play baseball. They won 2 World Series championships, in 1975, and 1976, and the team's legacy stretches beyond a few Hall of Fame plaques and World Series trophies.
George Anderson started his playing career in 1959, and ended it the next season. He did pick up his nickname of "Sparky" at that time, and the name stuck for the rest of his life. Sparky became the 1st manager to win 600 games in the American League and National League. He retired after the 1995 season, with a career record of 2,194 wins and 1,834 losses. His number 10 was retired by the Reds, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000 by the Veterans Committee.
Not only had Sparky known what he was doing when it came to managing a game of baseball, but he also was a great man. During his career in Detroit, he founded the CATCH Foundation, and he participated in raising money for it beyond his retirement. He was always an excellent TTM signer, until leading up to these final few months where he could barely spell his name anymore. I never got the opportunity to get his autograph while he was still living, and I truly regret not sending him a letter while he was still alive and well.
R.I.P, Sparky Anderson, you will truly be missed...
George Anderson started his playing career in 1959, and ended it the next season. He did pick up his nickname of "Sparky" at that time, and the name stuck for the rest of his life. Sparky became the 1st manager to win 600 games in the American League and National League. He retired after the 1995 season, with a career record of 2,194 wins and 1,834 losses. His number 10 was retired by the Reds, and he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2000 by the Veterans Committee.
Not only had Sparky known what he was doing when it came to managing a game of baseball, but he also was a great man. During his career in Detroit, he founded the CATCH Foundation, and he participated in raising money for it beyond his retirement. He was always an excellent TTM signer, until leading up to these final few months where he could barely spell his name anymore. I never got the opportunity to get his autograph while he was still living, and I truly regret not sending him a letter while he was still alive and well.
R.I.P, Sparky Anderson, you will truly be missed...
Thanks for posting this, Drew. A great one has left us. With some of these older Hall of Famers, I'm afraid that we will be reading more of these type articles... Feller at 92, Musial at 90, Irvin at 93... etc etc. Sucks.
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