'Sparky' Anderson: World Series manager and honorary Lutheran

George “Sparky” Anderson (left) enjoys celebrations in January at California Lutheran University naming its new baseball field after him.

Anderson, 72, a longtime friend and supporter of the university from neighboring Thousand Oaks, is a member of baseball’s Hall of Fame, fourth on the all-time managerial win list and the only manager to win World Series championships in both leagues (Cincinnati and Detroit). He quipped to the media about the irony of the honor, “I only had a high school education, and I had to cheat to get that.”