Hall of Famer Duke Snider played almost his entire career with the Dodgers in Brooklyn and Los Angeles. He provided one of the key pieces on a great run that saw the Dodgers win seven National League pennants and the 1955 and 1959 World Series.
Called The Duke of Flatbush, Snider provided power in the middle of the Dodgers lineup and patrolled center field. He had more home runs and RBI than any other player in the 1950s. Some still consider Snider the greatest hitter in Dodgers history.
Duke Snider’s Early Life
Snider hailed from Southern California. Born on Sept. 19, 1926 in Los Angeles, Snider’s given name was Edwin Donald Snider. But his family soon gave him the nickname “Duke” because of the imperious way he tended to walk around the house as a child. The name stuck his entire life.
He reached six feet tall by the time he became a high school student. Like many elite athletes he played multiple sports, including baseball, basketball, football and track, all at Compton High School. He led the basketball team in scoring. In baseball, his power at the plate landed him the cleanup spot in the lineup.
At a camp run by the Dodgers in 1943, Snider impressed scouts for the team. The Dodgers offered him a $250 per month contract with a $750 bonus. Even though the Pittsburgh Pirates later offered him a $15,000 bonus, Snider stuck with the Dodgers.
Duke Snider in Spring Training and WWII
Snyder started his professional career in 1944, playing for the Montreal Royals in the International League (for just two games) and the Newport News Dodgers in the Piedmont League. Then, World War II changed everyone’s plans.
Snider joined the U.S. Navy for the war, serving in 1945 and 1946. With the war over, he returned to baseball, playing for the Fort Worth Cats in 1946. The Dodgers already considered him the biggest star in their farm system because of his combination of power, speed and fielding ability. So, in 1947, the Dodgers brought Snider up to the big league as a backup outfielder.
Duke Snider’s Major League Career
Snider got a hit in his first game on April 17. 1947. However, he played in only 40 games that season and did not make much of an impact at the plate. By later accounts, he also proved to be a bit moody and temperamental. He was only 20 years old. He spent parts of both 1947 and 1948 in the minors.
In 1948, Snider played a bit more, but still did not crack the starting lineup. However, in spring training of that year, the Dodgers spent extra time training Snider to better understand the strike zone and stop lunging at pitches. He later said that spring changed his career.
Snider broke out in 1949. The Dodgers put him in the starting lineup and said it was his job to lose. He responded by hitting .292 with 23 home runs (tied with Gil Hodges for the team lead) and 92 RBIs.
Snider also drove in the run that won the pennant in 1949 for the Dodgers against the Philadelphia Phillies on the last day of the season. His long run of greatness as a Dodger had started.
The following are among some of Snider’s many accomplishments during his Hall of Fame career.
- From 1949 to 1957, he drove in at least 92 runs each season (and more than 100 in six of those years)
- He led the league in runs scored each season from 1953-55
- He led the league with 136 RBIs in 1955
- He hit four home runs in the 1955 World Series in which the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees
- He’s the only player to hit four home runs in two different World Series (1952 and 1955)
- In his 36 World Series games, Snider hit .286 with 11 home runs and 26 RBI
- Named to eight All-Star teams
Life After Baseball
After retirement, Snider ran an unsuccessful avocado ranch and bowling center in California. He rejoined the Dodgers as a scout in 1968, but found his stride as a broadcaster for the San Diego Padres (1969-1971) and Montreal Expos (1973-1986). His name is also the chorus in one of the most well-known songs about baseball.
He became eligible for the hall in 1970, but did not get the 75 percent of the votes needed until 1980 (many blamed it on his poor relationship with baseball reporters). After retiring from the Expos, he got into trouble for not reporting income earned on baseball card shows. He avoided jail time but ended up paying hefty fines and back taxes with penalties and interest.
Before his death on Feb. 11, 2011, Snider was the last of the starting Dodger eight position players from the 1955 club that beat the Yankees to win the World Series. Writer Roger Kahn immortalized the team in his non-fiction 1972 book, “Boys of Summer.”
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