Sparky Anderson was the skipper of the Big Red Machine, the man who kept the team running smoothly. Nicknamed “Captain Hook” for his reputation of pulling a pitcher as soon as he got in trouble, Sparky only played one season in the bigs himself. As a manager, he twice won the Manager of the Year award, in 1984 and 1987, both with the Tigers. Had the award existed in the 1970s, there is no doubt he would have won at least once in that decade with the Reds.
In 1979, Sparky guest starred in an episode during the the second season of WKRP In Cincinnati, one of the greatest sitcoms of all-time. Carlson hired Sparky to do a sports talk show, but the staff at the radio station soon discovered Sparky was a terrible on-air personality. Carlson ends up firing Sparky, to which Anderson replies, “I must be crazy. Every time I come to (Cincinnati) I get fired!”
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