Sunday, February 27, 2011

Duke Snider, R. I. P.

Another of my childhood heroes gone.

Duke Snider, Brooklyn Dodger Great, Dies at 84 - NYTimes.com: "Duke Snider, the Hall of Fame center fielder renowned for his home run drives and superb defensive play in the Brooklyn Dodgers’ glory years, died Sunday in Escondido, Calif. He was 84.

His death was announced by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In the 1950s, the golden age of New York baseball, the World Series almost always meant red, white and blue bunting at Ebbets Field, Yankee Stadium or the Polo Grounds. October afternoons provided a national showcase for baseball’s premier center fielders — Snider of the Dodgers, Mickey Mantle of the Yankees and Willie Mays of the Giants."

Hat tip to Jeff Meyerson.


6 comments:

Scott Cupp said...

So sad to read this. A great ball player and human being, the like of which is rarely seen in sports these days.

Anonymous said...

Some time after we moved to Bay Ridge I discovered that Snider had lived there part of the time he played for the Dodgers. The place is less than a mile from my apartment.

Jeff

Anonymous said...

From the Carl Erskine entry on WIkipedia: Along with Snider and Reese, he lived in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Bay Ridge, and was frequently to be found around the baseball diamonds on Shore Road, offering encouragement to youngsters.

Jeff

mybillcrider said...

I have a copy of his autobiography somewhere. Maybe I can find it.

Anonymous said...

The Duke was a great one, alright. I was a Dodger fan back then.

Brent McKee said...

For a number of years he was one of the voices of my beloved Montreal Expos, along with Dave Van Horne. Not that you'll find that information on his Wikipedia page or on the Expos Wikipedia page for that matter.