[3] Born and raised in Spokane, Washington, Anderson graduated from Rogers High School in 1949, where he was a multi-sport star for the Pirates.

[4][5] He enrolled at the University of Idaho in Moscow, ninety miles (140 km) south, and was a two-sport athlete for the Vandals, then a member of the Pacific Coast Conference.

[12] The baseball team won the inaugural Big Sky title in 1964,[13] and again in 1966, led by starting pitchers Bill Stoneman and Frank Reberger.

[16] One step from the College World Series in Omaha, the Vandals fell 3–2 and 8–5 to Arizona in Tucson in the District 7 finals, today's "super-regionals" (sweet 16).

[28] After a battle with cancer, Anderson died at age 82 at St. Joseph Regional Medical Center in Lewiston in early 2013.