37°Good Morning
FILE - This July 26, 1994, file photo shows Detroit...

FILE - This July 26, 1994, file photo shows Detroit Tigers manager Sparky Anderson smiling as he looks out from the dugout prior to the start of a baseball game against the Seattle Mariners, in Detroit. Anderson has been placed in hospice care at his Thousands Oaks, Calif. home for complications resulting from dementia. Anderson family's said in a statement Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2010, they appreciate the support and kindness that friends and fans have shown throughout the Hall of Famer's career and retirement. (AP Photo/Lennox McLendon, File) Credit: AP Photo/Lennox McLendon

Sparky Anderson, whose personality shone as brightly as his winning percentage as a manager, died Wednesday in Thousand Oaks, Calif., from complications of dementia. He was 76.

A Hall of Fame inductee in 2000, Anderson compiled a 2,194-1,834 record (.545 winning percentage) in 26 years as a major-league manager, nine with Cincinnati and 17 with Detroit. He won two World Series titles and four pennants with the Reds, calling the shots for "The Big Red Machine," and led the 1984 Tigers to a 35-5 start and a championship.

"I am truly saddened by the loss of Sparky Anderson. I have lost, and all of baseball has lost, a dear friend," commissioner Bud Selig said in a statement. "Sparky was a gentleman, a great baseball man and a superb ambassador for the game.

" . . . I recall with great fondness the many hours we would spend together when his Tigers came to Milwaukee. Sparky was a loyal friend, and whenever I would be dealing with difficult situations as commissioner, he would lift my spirits, telling me to keep my head up and that I was doing the right thing."

"He was a big part of my life, for sure," former Tigers pitcher Jack Morris told The Associated Press. "He had a lot to do with molding me professionally and taught me a lot about perseverance.''

Anderson took over as Reds manager in 1970 at the young age of 36, although his prematurely white hair made him look older. He wasn't well-known, having spent just one season (1959, with the Phillies) as a major-league player.

But he quickly made his mark by gaining the respect of his superstar-laden team in Cincinnati. He earned the nickname "Captain Hook" because of his proclivity for lifting pitchers, and his infectious optimism made him popular in all circles.

"Sparky was a great man and a great manager," Tony Perez, who played for Anderson in Cincinnati, said in a statement released by the Hall of Fame. "He was the man who put together some great teams and made us go. He was a great man, and we will miss him. We love him."

Though Anderson managed the Tigers for 11 more years after the 1984 title and never again reached the World Series, he remained beloved because of his cheery nature and his dedication to charitable endeavors.

In his final season, 1995, he refused to manage replacement players who crossed the picket line during the players' strike, gaining further respect from the players.

Anderson will be remembered as one of the game's most successful managers and one of its most likable people.

"Baseball is a simple game," Anderson once said. "If you have good players and if you keep them in the right frame of mind, then the manager is a success."

SUBSCRIBE

Unlimited Digital AccessOnly 25¢for 6 months

ACT NOWSALE ENDS SOON | CANCEL ANYTIME