- George Scherger
George Richard Scherger (born
November 10 ,1920 inDickinson, North Dakota ), nicknamed "'Sugar Bear," is a retired coach in AmericanMajor League Baseball and a former longtime minor leagueinfielder and manager. Scherger was an infielder from 1940 to 1956, but never made it higher than the low minor leagues with the Brooklyn Dodgers' Class CCalifornia League team in Santa Barbara from 1951 to 1953. Scherger also spent three years in the U.S. armed forces inWorld War II .Scherger managed as a player/manager in the last nine years of his playing career, including his years with Santa Barbara, and managed and coached in the minors from 1961-1969. He joined the
Cincinnati Reds organization in 1967.When
Sparky Anderson was named manager of the Reds for the by|1970 season, Scherger — who had managed the young Sparky in the Brooklyn organization — was hired as first base coach. With the exception of third base coachAlex Grammas , who left the Reds in by|1976 to manage theMilwaukee Brewers for two seasons, Anderson's coaching staff of Scherger, Grammas,Larry Shepard (pitching coach) andTed Kluszewski (hitting coach) remained intact from Anderson's hiring to his dismissal after the 1978 season. During that time, Cincinnati won fourNational League pennants and twoWorld Series titles.After Anderson's firing, Scherger was named manager of the Double-A Southern League's
Nashville Sounds . In 1979, he managed the Sounds to win the SL championship. He also managed the team for part of 1988. In 1981, Scherger took over as skipper of the Triple-A American Association'sIndianapolis Indians , before returning to the Reds as a coach from 1982 to 1986.Scherger resides in
Charlotte, North Carolina .
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