Fun story about Sparky

[Aquifer]

Reading yesterday in the card forum about Rip-off stories was depressing so I decided to counterattack with this fun one about Sparky Anderson.

My dad's family is from a small (I do mean small) town in South Dakota, where in the 20's-30's, each region had a local amateur league composed of town teams. One of the opposing towns was Bridgewater, SD, where Sparky was born. I recovered an old scorebook from that time, 1932-37, and in the 1936 season, noticed two Andersons playing for Bridgewater. I knew Sparky hailed from Bridgewater (I think all South Dakotans are required to learn that!) and so on a complete lark, I wrote to him and enclosed a copy of the scorebook page.

Two days later, my phone rang and it was Sparky himself, more excited than I (well, maybe!). "Where on earth did you get this?" he exclaimed. "That's my father and my uncle," and we went on to talk almost an hour about his recollections of those games, and baseball in general. What a gracious and kind man he was that day and since I had sent him two copies of the scorebook page, he was happy to sign one for me and mail it back. Very much fun and I am so glad I was able to get to him while his health permitted.

[perezfan]

Thanks for posting... he was said to be a great guy, by all who spoke of him.

I bumped into him at an airport, and he couldn't have been any nicer. One of baseball's great managers, and a real character. He probably would've won even more championships, had the Reds not traded Perez to Montreal in 1977 (his words... and I agree!)

[BranchRickey56]

Eric, I'm not surprised. I grew up (mostly) in Cincinnati and it seemed that everyone you talked to back in the day who had contact with Sparky had positive things to say about him. He was really a beloved figure in town and was the kind of guy who would take the time to talk to you and sign autographs and just in general treat you with the same respect that you usually had for him.

(This is in contrast to some other Reds "stars" of those great teams who were bragging blowhards (Rose), or wouldn't take the time for autographs and treated kids and autograph seekers with disrespect (Bench).)

I was very sad for many of us when he left the Reds, but most of my friends and I rooted for him and were glad when he was such a success with the Tigers.

[clutch]

Living in Michigan, I have attended more than my share of autograph signings in the Detroit area. Between he and Ernie Harwell, you won't find 2 more kind and gracious people. Even in obvious failing health, Sparky was still smiling and chatting it up. One of the good guys!

[Davy_Kangaroo_Jones]

I met Sparky many times. Great guy. Was great with kids too.

[Wymers Auction]

I grew up in Cincinnati and everyone is right all you ever hear about Sparky is fantastic things. I think some other notables from Cincy are Joe Nuxhall, Anthony Munoz, Jack McKeon was awesome, Sean Casey, Pete Rose, and many more.

[Wayward99]

Originally Posted by Davy_Kangaroo_Jones

I met Sparky many times. Great guy. Was great with kids too.

He really was - I had relatives who lived in Lakeland, FL who used to go to a lot of spring training games, and he used to make a big deal out of seeing my younger cousin (5 or 6 yrs old), who was a redhead...he would always hurry over and give her a hug. I believe sometimes he'd take her out on the field, too.

The few times I was there (ages 12-14) he was always incredibly gracious (and funny) with the crowd around him.

[HexsHeroes]

Originally Posted by clutch

Living in Michigan, I have attended more than my share of autograph signings in the Detroit area. Between he and Ernie Harwell, you won't find 2 more kind and gracious people. Even in obvious failing health, Sparky was still smiling and chatting it up. One of the good guys!

+1