OT - RIP Sparky Anderson
 

Very sad...one of the managing greats of all time.

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=5764168

Ugh, this is really sad. And I feel really old all of a sudden.

Sad news indeed. He was a Great one!

There was an article in this morning's NY Times that Sparky was suffering from dementia. There was no indication that he was near the end of his life. In that respect it seems very sudden. He was a great manager and a colorful character. Sad indeed.

sparky
 

very sad.
one of my favorite mgrs.

my condolences to family,friends, and fans

barry

What always amazed me about Sparky was how young he really was. He died, today at 76, which means that when he was managing the Reds back 40 years ago, he was 36.

If you go back to his playing days, his 1959 and 1960 cards also looked much older than 25-26.

Captain Hook
 

Sparky was a class act. Another unforgettable member of the Tigers of my youth gone. I will never forget him yelling to Kirk Gibson in the '84 Series, "He Don't Want to Walk You!" when Goose Gossage was on the hill.

a small tribute
 

http://i425.photobucket.com/albums/p...sly/sparky.jpg


The first manager to win a World Series in both Leagues.

When I started collecting as a kid in the mid 80's, Sparky Anderson was one of my favorite managers. It was always a nice surprise to pull one of his cards from a pack. I was saddened to read that he was recently placed in hospice care. As Barry stated, there was no mention of him being near death.

My condolences to his family. RIP, Sparky.

Sparky...
 

Sparky was my all-time favorite Mgr... RIP

Loved Sparky.
The first series I remember watching closely was '75...

One memory that stands out to me about Sparky was he refused to manage the replacement players that were being sought before the 95 season.. i think.

RIP Sparky! You were one of the best! You'll never be forgotten! God Bless!

I live in Michigan and it was on the news yesterday. His family reported Sparky was put into Hospice. Complications of dementia. I know Hospice is the last step, but did not expect this that quick.

Did a lot of Charity work here in Michigan with "CATCH" charity organization.

Joe

RIP George :(

I agree Jim, didn't realize his age when I used to see him in the 70's. I clearly remember him and the Big Red Machine.
Very sad.

Frank

great loss to baseball and a great man RIP.

Sad news.

I agree Jeff, this one makes me feel real old. I was nine when I became a Reds fan and I turned 50 a month ago. Long live the Big Red Machine and rest in peace, Sparky ...

The report on the radio said he wanted no funeral and no memorial service. Kinda odd. He was a fantastic manager and I remember fondly going to many Reds home games in the mid to late 1970's on mini vacations that my folks and I would take up to Northern Kentucky. A couple of Reds games and a couple hours at the card store in the Florence Mall. It was fun being a Reds fan in the 1970's. Maybe it will be again some day......

Sparky changed the way the game was played with his use of the bullpen and as a result the complete game went the way of the dinosaur.

I'm gonna get the quote wrong, but I always like his reasoning for wearing #11.

"The first 1 is because I'm the manager, and the second 1 is so you don't forget it."

Not sure about the the rules regarding video...if this is not allowed then remove.

This is a clip from MLB.com that basically sums up the reason I love Tiger baseball and baseball in general. My favorite manager and my favorite player...enjoy

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?co...35118&c_id=mlb

As my annual vacation I go to Cooperstown for the inductions. When Sparky was giving his induction speech I found we agreed on something. He said "baseball is a great game and if you don't like it GET OUT".

A friend who's a huge Reds fan and went to a number of events featuring Sparky over the years, says he was always unbelievably nice to everyone he came in contact with.
Here's Sparky's bat from the late 70s and his jersey as a coach with the Padres just before taking the Reds job.

Greg
http://www.baseballbasement.com

Here's a nice piece that Rob Neyer linked on espn.com yesterday

http://joeposnanski.blogspot.com/201...nd-sparky.html