Duke Snider biography
Duke Snider, byname of Edwin Donald Snider, additionally known as the Silver Fox and the Duke of Flatbush, (born September 19, 1926, Los Angeles, California, U.S.—died February 27, 2011, Escondido, California), American skilled baseball participant who was greatest identified for enjoying centre subject on the famed “Boys of Summer” Brooklyn Dodgers groups of the Fifties.
Snider was raised in Compton, California, the place he got here to the eye of the Dodgers whereas taking part in for Compton Junior College. He signed with the group in 1943 and made his main league debut in 1947. Snider earned a beginning position in 1949, and he garnered the primary of eight profession All-Star choices throughout his second full-time season. One of the most effective sluggers of his period, he hit 40 or extra residence runs in every season from 1953 to 1957, together with a league-leading 43 in 1956. Snider was continuously in comparison with two different All-Star centre fielders who performed in New York City when he did—Willie Mays of the Giants and Mickey Mantle of the Yankees. Heated debates over which of the three was the superior participant have been widespread amongst that metropolis’s baseball followers all through the Fifties.
Snider was a member of Dodgers groups that gained the National League (NL) pennant 4 occasions between 1947 and 1953 however that misplaced to the New York Yankees within the World Series on every event, additional cementing the Dodgers’ lighthearted “Dem Bums” nickname among the many crew’s passionate followers. While assuredly a fan favorite in his time with the Dodgers, the mercurial Snider was not as universally beloved as a lot of his teammates, comparable to Pee Wee Reese and Roy Campanella, partially due to a 1955 incident whereby—after being booed at residence whereas within the midst of a hitting stoop—he known as Brooklyn supporters the worst followers within the league. The remark made headlines throughout town. Nevertheless, his play in that 1955 season was integral to the “Boys of Summer” capturing their first World Series title.
Snider’s play through the postseason was excellent all through his profession: he had a lifetime slugging share of .594 in six World Series, and he was the one participant in historical past to have hit 4 residence runs in two completely different Series (1952, 1955). He gained a second World Series championship with the Dodgers in 1959, one 12 months after the crew relocated to Los Angeles. Snider performed with the Dodgers via 1962 after which ended his profession with one-season stints with the New York Mets and the San Francisco Giants earlier than retiring in 1964. His profession totals embody 2,116 hits, 407 residence runs, and 1,333 runs batted in.
Snider served as a minor league supervisor within the Dodgers group (1965–67) and as a broadcaster for the Montreal Expos (1973–86). His autobiography, The Duke of Flatbush (cowritten with Bill Gilbert), was revealed in 1988. Snider was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.