Free Republic

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif., Nov. 3 (UPI) -- Baseball Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson has been placed in hospice care, suffering from dementia, family members said Wednesday. Anderson, 76, managed the Cincinnati Reds to World Series wins in 1975 and 1976 guided the Detroit Tigers to a world championship in 1984. Family spokesman Dan Ewald told the Detroit Free Press Anderson was under care in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and family members wished "to express appreciation to all friends and fans for the support and kindness they have shown throughout Sparky's career and retirement." His illness is "the type of ailment...

The nearest I ever got to Sparky Anderson in person was four years ago. At a funeral. I'm not even close to making this one up. Larry Sherry, the 1959 World Series MVP for the Los Angeles Dodgers (Anderson was once a minor league infielder in the Dodger organisation, before spending a miserable season as a good-glove-bad-bat Philadelphia Phillies infielder), had died after a long bout with cancer. I wrote a pleasant little tributary to the old righthander and, within hours of its publication, I received a pleasant communique from Sherry's son-in-law. He thanked me for the kind words and...