Fans Encouraged to Arrive Early for
Ceremony Slated to Begin at 12:45 p.m.
DETROIT – Hall of Fame manager Sparky Anderson will be given the Tigers’ highest honor on Sunday afternoon as his number 11 jersey will be retired by the team in a pregame ceremony at Comerica Park. Anderson’s number 11 is just the seventh to be retired in the club’s 111-year history and the first since Willie Horton had his number 23 jersey retired during the 2000 season. Along with Horton, Anderson joins Hal Newhouser (16), Hank Greenberg (5), Charlie Gehringer (2) and Al Kaline (6) in having jersey numbers retired by the Tigers. Jackie Robinson’s number 42 has also been retired by all 30 major league clubs.
Anderson will be represented by his three children and their spouses, two grandchildren, a nephew, former players and other dignitaries for a ceremony on the field. Tigers Owner Michael Ilitch and Tigers President, CEO and General Manager David Dombrowski will represent the Tigers during the ceremony, which will be emceed by Tigers’ radio play-by-play voice Dan Dickerson.
“Sparky was truly one of the great managers in baseball,” said Tigers Owner Michael Ilitch. “He had a tremendous impact on the Detroit Tigers and our community. We’re proud to honor Sparky by adding his number 11 to the list of Tigers greats on the brick wall at Comerica Park.”
Anderson managed at the major league level for 26 seasons, including 17 with the Tigers from 1979-95. He recorded 1,331 victories as the Tigers manager and led the club to a World Series title during the 1984 season. He remains the Tigers all-time leader with 1,331 victories and 2,579 games managed. He was named American League Manager of the Year in both 1984 and 1987 and was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2000.
In addition to his 17 seasons as Tigers manager, he left a lasting impact on the community through CATCH, a children’s charity he founded in 1987. CATCH raises funds to provide a current and future source of revenue to help improve the quality of life for sick, injured and at-risk pediatric patients who receive care from Children’s Hospital of Michigan and Henry Ford Hospital.
