Name: George Lee Anderson, aka “Sparky“, aka “Captain Hook”
Primary position: Manager
Years with the Tigers: 1979-1995
Quote:“No manager ever won no ballgames.”
Where is he now? Sparky lives in Arizona and, among other endeavors, tours the country appearing at special or corporate events as a public speaker. Tomorrow, he’ll be in Detroit to throw out the first pitch in Game 2 of the Wolrd Series.


Why, oh why, did you pick him? No favorite Tiger list would be complete without the old Sparkster on it.

Along with being part of some of my fondest Tiger memories as a child – I always got a kick out of the ball of fire beneath that cute, sweet-looking facade – Sparky was key in the Tigs’ 1984 World Series win, as evidenced by his Manager of the Year award that year. He also received the award again in ’87 when the Tigers won the ALCS.

Sparky was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000. Some of his other accolades include a career 2,194 wins and being the only manager in history to win championships in both the AL anmd NL (that will change after the 2006 World Series as both Leyland and La Russa have won championships in opposing leagues).

Photo from CNNSI