Sparky Anderson

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Anderson was born in Bridgewater, South Dakota, on February 22, 1934. He moved to Los Angeles, California, at the age of eight. He was a batboy for the USC Trojans. He attended Susan Miller Dorsey High School in Los Angeles. Upon graduating, he was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent in 1953. Anderson's American Legion team won the 1951 national championship, which was played in Briggs Stadium (Tiger Stadium) in Detroit. Anderson married Carol Valle on October 3, 1953. They had first met when each was in the fifth grade. A radio announcer gave him the nickname "Sparky" in 1955 for his feisty play. Anderson became known as "Captain Hook" for his penchant for taking out a starting pitcher at the first sign of weakness and going to his bullpen, relying heavily on closers Will McEnaney and Rawly Eastwick.

In Their Own Story

The 1976 season remains a peak moment in Reds history. After winning 102 games, the team swept the Philadelphia Phillies in three games to take the NLCS, then swept the New York Yankees in the World Series. This marked the only time since 1969 that a team swept both their League Championship Series and the World Series. Anderson's teams won seven straight postseason games in 1976 alone, capping an incredible 14–3 run against the Pirates, Phillies, Red Sox, and Yankees over two years.

Reader's Guide

Anderson began his playing career with the Santa Barbara Dodgers of the Class-C California League, where he was primarily used as a shortstop. In 1954, he was moved up to the class-A Pueblo Dodgers of the Western League and was moved to second base, where he played the rest of his career. In 1955, Anderson was moved another step up the minor league ladder, playing for the Double-A Fort Worth Cats of the Texas League. In 1956, he moved up once more, this time to the Triple-A Montreal Royals of the International League. In 1957, he was assigned to the Los Angeles Angels of the open-classification Pacific Coast League. The next season, after the Dodgers' move to Los Angeles, he returned to Montreal. 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. 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. However, he batted only .218 in 152 games, with no home runs and 34 runs batted in, and returned to the minor leagues for the remainder of his playing career. He played the next four seasons with the Triple-A Toronto Maple Leafs in the International League. After watching several practices, Leafs owner Jack Kent Cooke observed Anderson's leadership qualities and ability to teach younger players from all backgrounds. Cooke immediately encouraged him to pursue a career in managing, offering Anderson the post for the Leafs. In 1964, at the age of 30, Anderson accepted Cooke's offer to manage the Leafs. He later handled minor league clubs at the Class-A and Double-A levels, including a season (1968) in the Reds' minor league system. During this period, he managed four pennant winners in four consecutive seasons: 1965 with the Rock Hill Cardinals of the Western Carolinas League, 1966 with the St. Petersburg Cardinals of the Florida State League, 1967 with the Modesto Reds of the California League, and 1968 with the Asheville Tourists of the Double-A Southern League. It was during the 1966 season that Anderson's club lost to Miami 4–3 in 29 innings, which remains the longest pro game played (by innings) without interruption. Anderson also briefly managed in Venezuela, piloting the 1964–65 Navegantes del Magallanes; he was fired after a

Did You Know?

• Anderson was the first manager to win the World Series in both leagues.
• His 2,194 career wins are the seventh-most for a manager in Major League history.
• Anderson was named American League Manager of the Year in 1984 and 1987.
• He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
• Anderson's American Legion team won the 1951 national championship, which was played in Briggs Stadium (Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.