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Sparky Anderson


Sparky Anderson managed the National League Cincinnati Reds from 1970 - 1978, and then the American League Detroit Tigers from 1979 - 1995. During this time he led the Reds to four pennants and two World Series titles, and the Tigers to one pennant and one World Series title, becoming the first manager to win the World Series in both leagues. Anderson's overall record of 2194 wins (currently 6th all-time), 1838 losses, and two ties resulted in a winning percentage of .545.

During Anderson's tenure with the Reds they became known as the Big Red Machine, a team that dominated the National League. The 75 and 76 Reds teams are still widely recognized as being among the best in baseball history. Those teams featured the "Great Eight'" consisting of Pete Rose, Ken Griffey, Sr., Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, Tony Perez, George Foster, Dave Concepcion, and Cesar Geronimo. The 75 and 76 Reds are the only National League team to win back-to-back World Series in the last 75 years. What a GREAT time it was to be a Reds fan!


First sheet top row: 70 Topps of Anderson's first season as Reds manager (with what I assume is an air-brushed cap); 72 Topps; and a 73 Topps (with Red HoFer Ted Kluszewski).

Middle row: 74 Topps (again with Big Klu); followed by 75 and 76 Topps team cards.

Bottom row: 77 Topps team card; 78 Topps (love the inset photo from his playing days); and 79 Topps team card.


Second sheet, Top row: 78 SSPC; 81 Donruss with the Tigers; and 81 Topps Tigers team card.

Middle row: 82 Donruss; 83 Topps; and 84 Topps.

Bottom row: 84 Fleer Tigers Checklist; 86 Topps (the cool colors and Sparky's smile make this a great card); and 87 Topps.


Last sheet, top row: 86 Topps Tigers Leaders; 88 Topps; and 89 Topps.

Middle row: 2001 Fleer Greats of the Game; 2005 Upper Deck Classics; and 2008 Goudy/Upper Deck in the same pose as the 05 UD Classic card.

As a member of both the National Baseball and Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame's, I am still actively collecting Anderson cards, but mostly only those from his days as a Red. Of course, a card from his playing days would be a bonus that I'll have to focus on at some point.

I just looked up his playing "career." Sparky played only one year in the majors - 1959 with the Phillies. He played in 152 of the Phillies 154 games (bested only by HoFer Richie Ashburn's 153 games), batted .218 with no home runs and 34 RBI. He was returned to the minors the next season and never returned to the majors as a player. It's interesting how marginal players can become outstanding major league managers, as exemplified by Anderson, Walter Alston, and others.

Be well!

CinciCuse Bill
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Comments

  1. FujiJanuary 5, 2020 at 12:45 PM

    Pretty much all of my memories of Sparky are of him managing the Tigers. It wasn't until years later that I discovered he managed The Big Red Machine.

    ReplyDelete
  2. CinciCuse BillJanuary 5, 2020 at 9:34 PM

    He was also known as "Captain Hook" for removing his starters early in the game and going to his bullpen. I guess he was ahead of his time and would probably be successful in todays game.

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousJanuary 7, 2020 at 4:53 AM

    If you click on picture during post editing, you can enlarge it. I usually use X-Large.

    ReplyDelete

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