Books and articles about Duke Snider

Along with Willie Mays of the Giants and Mickey Mantle of the Yankees, the Dodgers' Snider was one of a trio of Hall of Fame centerfielders about whom fans debated one of the most frequently asked baseball questions of the 1950s: "Who's the best centerfielder in New York?"

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Snider debuted in Brooklyn with Jackie Robinson in 1947, but it wasn't until 1949, after Branch Rickey hired George Sisler to help Snider "establish an acquaintance with the strike zone," that Snider showed the form that would make him the leading home run hitter of the 1950s, with 326. In the four years (1954-1957) that Mays, Mantle, and Snider starred simultaneously in New York in full-time capacities, it was Snider who led the three in homers and RBI. His power stroke was well suited to the bandbox structure of Ebbets Field, and the drives he hit that didn't leave the ballpark regularly pounded the stadium's high right-field wall for extra bases. From 1947 to 1961, Snider teamed with Gil Hodges to hit 745 homers, the third-highest total for a duo in National League history, and the fourth-highest total in the majors.

In 1955 TSN named Snider Major League Player of the Year in recognition of the completeness of his game. At one time or another, Snider finished among the top three in the National League in batting average, slugging average, hits, runs, RBI, doubles, triples, home runs, total bases, and stolen bases. He was also speedy and graceful as an outfielder. Stan Musial named Snider, Carl Furillo, and Andy Pafko "the best-throwing outfield I ever saw." He also named Snider, Mays, and Aaron his all-time NL outfield.

Although Snider did not hit lefthanders well, he was protected from facing them often by the Dodgers' lineup, which was heavily weighted with righthanded hitters Reese, Robinson, Hodges, Campanella, and Furillo. With those five Boys of Summer, Snider participated in five World Series from 1949 to 1956. He made his sixth and final Series appearance in 1959, en route to posting National League World Series home run and RBI records of 11 and 26. He hit four homers in each of the 1952 and 1955 Series, and is the only man to accomplish that feat twice.

Snider was not the darling of the press during his career. Over 50 newspaper articles castigated him following the publication of a 1956 Collier's article in which he told Roger Kahn that he wouldn 't be playing baseball if it weren't for the money. Nevertheless, he was a favorite of Brooklyn fans, who rued his departure and that of the Dodgers to Los Angeles in 1958. From 1958 through 1961, the Dodgers played their home games in the Los Angeles Coliseum, a football stadium converted to house the Dodgers. A vast right field compensated for a short left-field line and combined with injuries to end Snider's days as a dominant home run hitter. Snider was named team captain in 1962, his last season as a Dodger. He collected the first hit in Dodger Stadium, which opened that year.

The Mets acquired Snider for sentimental reasons in 1963, and he finished his career, ironically, with the Giants in 1964. After he retired, the Dodgers retired his uniform number 4, ending the use of the number by New York's original teams; Lou Gehrig and Mel Ott had already had their uniforms retired by the Yankees and Giants. Snider scouted for the Dodgers and Padres and managed in the minor leagues before becoming an announcer for the Montreal Expos. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980.

Snider is the subject of The Occurrences of Duke Snider, one of the strangest books ever written about a baseball player. This small, surrealistic cartoon book by Lee Dejasu features a fantasy Duke Snider who meets up with characters as diverse as Bill "Bojangles" Robinson and Pallas Athene. Snider's own autobiography became a best-seller in 1988. (TG/CR)

FROM THE BASEBALL CHRONOLOGY » May 2, 1948: The Phillies and Dodgers divide a doubleheader, Brooklyn outslugging the Blue Jays 9–6 in the opener, then losing, 2–0, to Ken Heintzelman. Furillo has a home run, triple and single in the opener, while Duke Snider hits his first two ML homers—the first, inside-the-park—a triple and a single, good for four RBIs. Ben Chapman starts Dutch Leonard but after one out brings in Curt Simmons against the lefty Dodger lineup. In the nitecap, Carl Furillo's 2-out single in the 7th is the first hit off Heintzelman, who pitches a 4-hitter. » August 18, 1948: At Philadelphia, Rex Barney fires a one-hitter, beating the Phils, 1–0. The lone hit is a looping single by Ralph Caballero that just eludes a diving Duke Snider. Barney completes his victory by striking out the side in the 9th. The 2nd-place Bums score their lone run in the first when Robin Roberts wild pitches home Brooks from 3B. » May 30, 1950: The Dodgers Duke Snider hits three home runs in the 2nd-game, 6–4 win of a doubleheader sweep of the Phils at Ebbets Field. » June 2, 1950: In a rain-soaked game in St. Louis, Don Newcombe and the Dodgers trim the Birds, 8–1, to move into first place. Newk holds the Birds to five hits, including Marty Marion's 3rd homer in three games he's started. Duke Snider's 2-run homer in the 6th helps drive Harry Brecheen to the showers. The Cards and Phils are a game back. » September 30, 1950: Before 23,879 at Ebbets Field, Brooklyn pulls within one game of the lead, as Erv Palica wins 7–3 over the Phillies. The Brooks rout rookie Bob Miller and then Duke Snider and Roy Campanella pound homers off Jim Konstanty. It is the Phillies fifth loss in a row, their eighth in 10 games. The red-hot Dodgers have now won 13 of their last 16 games. For the second year in a row, the pennant race will come down to the last game. If the Dodgers win tomorrow, the race will end in a three-way tie. » October 1, 1950: In Robin Roberts' 3rd start in five days, Dick Sisler's dramatic home run off Don Newcombe in the 10th clinches the pennant 4–1 for the Whiz Kids. It is the Phillies' first pennant in 35 years. In the play that sets the stage for Sisler's heroics, CF Richie Ashburn, playing shallow, throws out Dodger runner Cal Abrams at the plate in the bottom of the 9th. Abrams will later say, "I think they should have held me at 3rd," while Dodgers' skipper Burt Shotton, commenting on having Duke Snider hitting away, "I should have bunted. If you don't believe me, look in the newspapers." Brooklyn's only score comes when Pee Wee Reese hits a drive into the screen over the wall in right field. The ball falls on top of the wall and bounces up and down long enough for Reese to leg out an inside-the-park home run. » June 27, 1951: Behind three-run homers by Andy Pafko and Duke Snider, Don Newcombe coasts to an easy win over the Giants. » August 28, 1951: The Dodgers edge the visiting Reds, 3–1, behind rookie Clem Labine. Duke Snider provides the offense off Howie Fox with a single and two-run homer, the latter breaking a tie in the 8th. » April 16, 1952: The Dodgers Duke Snider goes 5-for-6 in a 14-8 win over the Boston Braves. » May 17, 1952: Behind the spectacular pitching of Ben Wade, the Dodgers coast to a 12–7 win over the Pirates. Wade strikes out six batters in a row and does not allow a hit until rookie Tony Bartirome's single in the 6th when the Corsairs plate six runs. The Brooks get 11 hits including a bases loaded triple by Duke Snider. Roy Campanella is hit on the hand by a pitch from Ron Kline but x-rays reveal no fracture. » May 21, 1952: After leadoff batter Billy Cox grounds out against Ewell Blackwell, the Whip loses his snap. The Dodgers then score 15 runs in the first inning as a record 19 consecutive batters reach 1B. Captain Pee Wee Reese walks twice in reaching base safely three times. Andy Pafko is thrown out trying to steal 3B, and Duke Snider mercifully strikes out to end the barrage against the Reds. The Dodgers score 15 runs on 15 RBIs in the frame, and coast at home, 19–1. Winning pitcher Chris Van Cuyk has the most hits with four—two in the first inning off Bud Byerly and Frank Smith, while Bobby Morgan has a pair of two-run homers and Snider another two-run homer. The Reds lone run is a homer by reserve catcher Dixie Howell. » August 11, 1953: Brooklyn slugger Duke Snider hits his second slam in 3 days, accounting for all the runs in the Dodgers 4-0 win over the Giants. Carl Erskine allows New York just two hits. » August 14, 1954: Dodgers slugger Duke Snider fans twice in the sixth inning of a game against the Giants, as the Dodgers hold on to a 6-5 victory. » September 25, 1954: Duke Snider joins teammate Gil Hodges in the 40-HR club, giving the Dodgers two 40-HR sluggers in 2 straight seasons. The Dodgers win 10-5. » September 26, 1954: In his 2nd start, rookie Brooklyn lefty Karl Spooner shuts out Pittsburgh 1-0 on a Gil Hodges HR in the 8th. He fans 12 for a total of 27 strikeouts in his first 2 ML games, establishing a new record. Gil Hodges's 8th-inning HR, his 25th at Ebbets Field (a new club record), gives him 42 for the season, tying him with Duke Snider for the most by a Dodger. » September 26, 1954: Going into the last day of the NL season, Don Mueller leads in hitting with .3426; Duke Snider is 2nd at .3425, followed by Willie Mays at .3422. The Giants win in 11 innings over the Phillies Robin Roberts, as Mays garners a single, double, and triple in 4 ABs. He finishes at .345 while Mueller slips to .341, the same as Snider. » October 1, 1955: Surprise Brooklyn starter rookie Roger Craig pitches 6 innings for the 5-3 win. Two HRs by Duke Snider and one by Sandy Amoros in the first 5 innings prove too much for New York. Snider, who hit 4 HRs in the 1952 WS, becomes the first player in history to do this more than once. » May 13, 1956: At Brooklyn, Duke Snider hits two homers, one a grand slam, as the Dodgers beat the Giants, 6–4. Carl Furillo's homer provides the other score. It is the Duke's first slam at Ebbets. » September 22, 1957: Duke Snider's 39th and 40th HRs are the last that will be hit at Ebbets Field. The Duke of Flatbush ties Ralph Kiner's NL mark of hitting at least 40 HRs in 5 consecutive seasons. Phillie Robin Roberts, who has a penchant for throwing HR balls, is the loser, 7-3. » March 5, 1958: Duke Snider, Johnny Podres, and Don Zimmer suffer minor injuries in an auto accident in Vero Beach, FL, as they try to beat a 12:30 A.M. curfew. This is the 3rd accident in two months involving Dodger players; Jim Gilliam and his family had an accident shortly after Roy Campanella's. » April 23, 1958: Gil Hodges hits his 300th HR and Pee Wee Reese plays in his 2,000th game, but the Dodgers lose 7-6 to the Cubs. Duke Snider injures his arm before the game trying to throw a ball out of the Los Angeles Coliseum. Unamused Dodger officials dock him a day's pay. » March 27, 1961: In a spring training game Cardinals P Larry Jackson suffers a broken jaw when hit by a fragment of Dodger Duke Snider's broken bat. Jackson will be sidelined four weeks. » April 17, 1961: In a 9–5 St. Louis win in the opener of a doubleheader, Dodger Duke Snider hits his 370th home run over the LF screen taking 7th place on the all-time list. But in his next at bat, the Duke suffers the consequences, sustaining a broken elbow when hit by Bob Gibson pitch. » July 29, 1961: Duke Snider's pinch home run and Ron Fairly's RBI hit give Los Angeles a 5–4 win at Pittsburgh. The Dodgers take over first place from the Reds. » September 14, 1961: At Los Angeles, Duke Snider caps a 4-run 9th inning by drilling a dramatic 3-run homer on a 2-strike count. The home run gives the Dodgers a 7–6 win and cuts the Reds lead to five games. » May 11, 1962: Minnie Minoso of the Cardinals suffers a fractured skull and broken wrist running into the outfield wall while chasing a Duke Snider triple. The Dodgers win 8–5. Minnie will be out of action until July 19th, then go back on the DL on August 18th when Craig Anderson hits him with a pitch breaking his left forearm. » April 1, 1963: The Mets bring Duke Snider back to New York, purchasing him from the Dodgers for $40,000. » April 11, 1963: Warren Spahn's Opening Day, 6–1, victory over the Mets is his first win of the season and the 328th of his career. He thus moves ahead of yesteryear's great Eddie Plank as the all-time winningest lefthander. Except for Duke Snider's home run, no Met gets past 2B. » May 22, 1963: Los Angeles' Don Drysdale beats the Mets 7–3 on two hits—homers by Duke Snider and Tim Harkness. » April 14, 1964: The Giants purchase Duke Snider from the Mets, answering the trivia question: Who played for the Brooklyn and LA Dodgers, the Giants, and the Mets? » May 27, 1964: The first two leadoff batters for the Giants -- Chuck Hiller and Duke Snider -- belt homers off Cardinal pitcher Bob Gibson. That's all the scoring the Giants get, but it's enough as they win, 2–1. » January 9, 1980: Al Kaline and Duke Snider are elected to the Hall of Fame by the BBWAA. Kaline is the 10th player to be elected in his first year of eligibility, while Snider is making his 11th appearance on the ballot. » August 3, 1980: Al Kaline, Duke Snider, Chuck Klein, and Tom Yawkey are inducted into baseball's Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. » December 1, 1995: Dodger Hall of Famer Duke Snider is sentenced to two years probation and fined $5,000 for failing to pay taxes on money earned signing autographs at card shows.