Take Me Out to the Golf Game

Those who played for Sparky Anderson when he managed the Cincinnati Reds and Detroit Tigers believe he was legendary. But to the Men’s Club at St. Paschal Baylon Catholic Church in Thousand Oaks, where Sparky was a member for 40 years, he was also legendary.

After Sparky died in November, the men wanted to do something in his honor. Given that Sparky played almost every year in St Paschal’s annual golf tournament, they decided this year to rename it the George “Sparky” Anderson Memorial Golf Classic, which will be held at the Moorpark Country Club.

“Because of Sparky’s humility, he didn’t want to have a funeral or wake,” said Men’s Club co-chair Dan Scully, “so this is our tribute to him.”

Sparky’s professional baseball career spanned more than 40 years. Drafted by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1953, he made it to the big leagues and played for the Phillies in 1959. He later went into coaching and was hired as the manager of the Cincinnati Reds in 1969. His “Big Red Machine” teams won two World Series titles in 1975 and 1976.

Then, after he was hired as manager for the Detroit Tigers in 1979, he won another championship in 1984, making him the first manager to win World Series titles in both the National and American Leagues. He was inducted as a manager into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.

Beyond baseball, Sparky remained active in community work. While managing in Detroit, he founded the charitable organization CATCH (Caring Athletes Teamed for Children's and Henry Ford hospitals). In 2006, California Lutheran University thought enough of him to name their new baseball field the “Sparky Anderson Baseball Field.”

In contrast to his public life, Sparky was known to the men at St. Paschal as a regular Joe who drove around in his old car, ate at Taco Bell and showed up regularly at the Men’s Club meetings to help with its charitable causes.

“Sparky would come to the church and talk to the children about their ideals,” said Men’s Club member Ed Krol. “He invited the Little Leaguers and signed autographs, and he would serve hot dogs at our annual Christmas party.”

This year’s tournament will be played on Thursday, June 30. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. The cost is $225 per player, or $780 for a foursome special. Fees includes range balls, cart, a gift bag, a BBQ lunch at Turn, a commemorative golf shirt, beer and soda on the course, and dinner with complimentary wine.

Los Angeles Angels manager Mike Scioscia is the Honorary Committee Member this year. Scioscia will be playing golf and serving as master of ceremonies at the dinner.

The day will also include a raffle and auction and feature special guest appearances by past Dodger greats Ron Cey, Bill Russell and Steve Yeager. Hall of Fame Broadcaster Ross Porter and CBS sports broadcaster Jim Hill will also appear as part of the day’s activities.

Money raised by the tournament will go toward supporting St. Paschal’s parish and school. In addition, a portion of the funds from the Hawaiian Raffle will go to Catholic Charities of Moorpark.

The tournament has grown tremendously over the last 30 years and Sparky was part of that growth. Now as the new tournament approaches, co-chair Chris Cuilty was asked what Sparky might think about having his name up on the tournament’s banner.

“He wouldn’t let us,” he said. “He was that humble.”

Humble, but gregarious, as Mike Scioscia once conveyed to committee member John Rak. Rak smiled as he passed along an example: “If you sat next to him in church,” Scioscia told him, “he couldn’t stop talking.”