Bless you, Sparky, and thanks for the memories

Out of all the beautiful tributes written to Tigers manager and World Series champ Sparky Anderson, who passed away last week from complications with dementia, we liked this line from The New York Times’ obituary most:

“But as a manager, he was not just a spark. He was a bonfire who sometimes burst into a three-alarm blaze.”

While his friends knew him as George, and this city adored him for his kind manner and easy manners, this picture from ESPN’s photo gallery says it perfectly: Sparky in his Tigers gear, 1982, standing his ground against not one, but three umpires.

The Hall of Fame manager, the first to win a World Series championship in both leagues, was the subject of thousands of articles this week, with many fond memories issued from our city’s sportswriters, ballplayers and fans. But SI’s Steve Rushin said it best:

“If
baseball minted its own coins, Sparky’s face would be embossed on its
pennies. “When I’m here, I’m at home,” he told me in the dugout at Tiger
Stadium. “There are days when I’m at home and I say, ‘Oh Christ,’ I say
to my wife, ‘I don’t mean this against you, but when I’m here'” — he
meant the ballpark — “‘I’m home.'”

Bless you, Sparky. We’re honored that you chose to call our city home.

Find out about CATCH, Sparky Anderson’s charity, here.