1975 Profile: Sparky Lyle

"The Count. A presence on the mound and among the toughest of relief pitchers, Sparky reverted to his sensational 1972 form last season and compiled a 9-3 record, 15 saves and a microscopic 1.66 earned run average.
'Now I know what everybody has been talking about the last two years,' said manager Bill Virdon. Sparky has a murderous slider.
A funnyman who once had a habit of sitting on birthday cakes, Lyle has become less demonstrative. He requested of the Yankees that they stop playing 'Pomp and Circumstance' when he entered games last year.
'It could be embarrassing if I got creamed,' he says.
Born Albert W. Lyle in Dubois, Pennsylvania, Red Sox teammates called him Fat Albert. Sparky signed his 1974 contract on the last day of the season after his lawyer had threatened to contest Baseball's option clause."

-Joe Gergen, The Complete Handbook of Baseball, 1975 Edition

"As Sparky Lyle works in his ninth major league season, it begins to occur to people that he may be the best relief pitcher of all time.
Sure, you start with your Hoyt Wilhelms and Roy Faces, but here's Sparky Lyle in the record books for most career saves, and a man who has only one bad season out of eight.
In three years with the Yankees, he has won or saved 100 games and has a 1.98 earned run average.
Of course, success and statistics are only part of Sparky's style. It's the drama of a Lyle appearance that has really put him into the hearts of New Yorkers. His exciting entry into crucial situations has become a hallmark of Yankee games, and he is one of the most recognizable athletes in New York.
The style and the record are what Sparky is about when he wears his baseball uniform. And the fans love it!"

-The New York Yankees Official 1975 Yearbook

"One of the most identifiable and popular members of the team, with a flair for the dramatic, his entries into games are usually in crucial situations, and he enjoys the pressure.
Sparky set Yankee records in 1974 by appearing in 66 games and by finishing 59 of them and had a career high in innings pitched. He set an American League record in 1972 with 35 saves, broken a year later by John Hiller. Lyle is in the record books for most lifetime saves, but the method of measuring them changed in 1974, and he was credited with 15. He has won or saved 100 Yankee games, with a 1.98 ERA, in his three seasons with the club.
Originally discovered and signed by the Orioles after striking out 31 men in a 17-inning sandlot game, Sparky never played high school ball. Boston drafted him after one season in the Oriole chain. Injured late in 1967, he failed to pitch in the World Series after playing a key role in getting the Red Sox there. He has really only had one bad year in eight seasons as a relief pitcher, a rare feat, and his ERA has been over 3.00 only once. Lyle has never started a game in the majors.
Named 'Most Cooperative' by photographers in 1973, he enjoys photography himself.
Sparky was the winner of the Fireman of the Year award from The Sporting News in 1972."

-1975 New York Yankees Press/TV/Radio Guide