George Lee "Sparky" Anderson was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player, coach, and manager. He managed the National League's Cincinnati Reds to the 1975 and 1976 championships, then added a third title in 1984 with the Detroit Tigers of the American League. Anderson was the first manager to win the World Series in both leagues. His 2,194 career wins are the sixth-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 at Tiger Stadium
Anderson (right) with Gerald Ford and Red Sox manager Darrell Johnson at the 1976 All-Star Game
George W. Bush chats with Anderson, left, and Yogi Berra.
In baseball, the field manager is the equivalent of a head coach who is responsible for overseeing and making final decisions on all aspects of on-field team strategy, lineup selection, training and instruction. Managers are typically assisted by a staff of assistant coaches whose responsibilities are specialized. Field managers are typically not involved in off-field personnel decisions or long-term club planning, responsibilities that are instead held by a team's general manager.
Whitey Herzog managed the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1980s
Image: Mack In Stands 1916
Image: John Mc Graw 1910 (retouched)