So Long, Duke…
February 27, 2011 at 1:56 pm | Posted in Duke Snider | 13 CommentsIt has just been reported that Duke Snider has passed away today, at the age of 84. What can you say about the man that hasn’t already been said? Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to watch him play, but he is unquestionably one of the greatest players this organization has ever had. A phenomenal player and, by all accounts, just as great of a guy. For those who got to see him, what are your favorite Snider memories?
R.I.P., Duke…
- Vin 
Advertisement
13 Comments »
RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI
Leave a Reply
How Many McCourt Sins?
MSTI on the web
MSTI Library
Blog at WordPress.com. | Theme: Pool by Borja Fernandez.
Entries and comments feeds.
It’s a memory, not a moment. Duke was not always the most popular guy with the Media. In a way Ethier reminds me of him. A Brash young guy, with a lot of talent who could be surly at times.Duke had probably his best year in 1955 when the Bums finally won the series. He batted .309, 42 homers 136 RBI’s. He was Sporting New Player of the year. But he came in 2nd in the MVP voting to Campy. One of the writers did not put him his ballot of players 1-10. I believe a tenth place vote would have meant he would have been the MVP. I grew up in Brooklyn in the 1950′s with those great teams. The Duke was always my favorite player.
Comment by David S— February 27, 2011 #
Among all the Boys of Summer, Duke was the one I wish I could have seen the most – ahead of Koufax, ahead of Jackie.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— February 27, 2011 #
I did get to see the Duke at the Coliseum in 1958 when I was 10 years old. He played left field with the immortal Gion Cimoli in center. I remembwer Duke trying to throw a ball out of tge Coliseum and injuring his arm (ouch!). I have to say that seeing Sandy Koufax was the most thrilling event in my history as a Dodger Fan….Big D too was a wonder to behold.
Comment by peacewarrior— March 1, 2011 #
The Duke was always my favorite Dodger. And I did see him. I have some old Kodak Brownie B&W photos from opening day in the Coliseum in 1958, when they let us kids down on the field. Still got the photos and still have the Duke’s autograph, along those from Hodges, Gilliam, Furillo and Drysdale.
.
As I recall the story, David S is correct in his recollection of the 1955 MVP voting. Snider should have won it hands-down, but one guy left him off the ballot entirely. But, as I recall further, it wasn’t out of animosity; the writer was ill and didn’t pay attention to what he was doing. It apparently wasn’t a Ted Williams thing, where petty writers cost Williams 2-3 MVPs because they didn’t like him.
.
The 1955 omission might have cost Snider a few years of waiting for induction into the HoF, but what really hurt him was flaming out at a young age. Injuries and the move to L.A. doomed the Duke. I remember when the Dodgers moved to L.A. and had to play in the Coliseum, where the right field power alley was 440 feet. Snider ruined his knee in the outfield at the Coliseum and was a shell of his former self at the age of 32. People in L.A. never saw the real Duke, although he had a terrific limited play year in 1959, the first L.A. world championship year.
.
Snider’s career stats, especially the lifetime batting average don’t look all that great because of the several years he hung around as an old injured dude trying to do part-time duty. Shit, he went to the Mets and even the damned Giants. He had a career trajectory kind of like Koufax, but, unlike Koufax, he didn’t quit when the body failed him. Check the salaries: it’s hard to escape the conclusion that he and some other old greats stuck around because they needed the money.
.
We’ll never again see a time when the best three outfielders—combining hitting and fielding—in baseball all play the same position in the same city. And have their own song: “Willie, Mickey and the Duke.” Ted Williams was a better hitter, but then there was fielding… Mays is best known for fielding prowess, but there are old clips around of Mantle and Snider going over walls to catch homeruns and doubling runners from deep centerfield.
Comment by SC Dodger— February 27, 2011 #
Thanks for the thoughts, SC. Would love to see those photos sometime.
Comment by Mike Scioscia's tragic illness— February 27, 2011 #
Glad to be able to read your accounts, sir.
Comment by @BrocNessMonster— March 1, 2011 #
I first saw him play in ’58. He was still pretty good, but obviously his best years were in Brooklyn. That cavernous right field in the Coliseum did him no good. I also met him when he was tending bar at his restaurant in Fallbrook around ’72. Great guy, a real gentleman.
Comment by Rory— February 27, 2011 #
Hmm, I seem to remember Carl Furillo playing in right but you may be right. Don Dememter & Gino Cimoli manned CF back then. Too bad we didn’t see Duke at his finest but for those of us who saw him it was a treasured memory no doubt.
Comment by peacewarrior— March 1, 2011 #
Oh man, that hurts. I wasn’t around during his heyday, but his legend casts a long shadow. Farewell, slugger!
Comment by elmo— February 27, 2011 #
We’re talking baseball, Kluszewski, Campanella, we’re talking baseball The Man and Bobby Feller, The Scooter, The Barber and the Newk, we knew ‘em all from Boston to Dubuque (sp), especially Willie, Mickey, and the Duke. He’s the one Boy of Summer I wish I did see play. He should have won the MVP in 1955 when Campy won it. He was a little surly and it cost him one voter who didn’t even put him 1-10. I think a 10th place vote would have given him the award like you guys say. Just goes to show that we don’t live forever but we’ll never forget the “Silver Fox.”
Comment by TokingAsian— February 28, 2011 #
That was a great song, I’m fairly (not Ron) sure, by the late singer songwriter, Steve Goodman. He died at 36 from leukemia. He knew that he was on borrowed time and had to live life quickly. I remember taping that song you talk about on my old VCR tape. I must’ve played it back 50 times until I learned all the words much to the chagrin of my wife. I still sing that damn song. Kiner and midget Gaedel, the Thumper and Mel Parnell, and Ike was the only one winning down in Washington….we’re talking baseball….a great time for the sport, a time when guys actually had to have jobs in the off-season because they weren’t making much! Duke Snider was my favorite Brooklyn Dodger and I did get to see him play toward the end of his career with the LA Dodgers, the Mets and the hated Giants. Injuries really ravaged him in his early 30′s or his numbers would have been much more prolific! Good stuff, Toking.
Comment by george hubschman— February 28, 2011 #
Willie, Mickey & the Duke was never more haunting than when it was played on the Dodgers radio flagship the day after the strike ended the season. Me & my oldest son cried.
Comment by peacewarrior— March 1, 2011 #
Duke also had a restaurant in Vero Beach. A friend of mine still has the etched plate glass window from the restaurant. It has a script etching and Duke later signed it. When I lived in Vero my friend gave it to me on semi-permanent loan. I found a glass top table that it worked great with. The Snider glass was under the other glass, so it was protected. Alas, when we moved back to Texas, my buddy recalled the glass. He still has it on display in his office in Vero.
Comment by SamAdams— February 28, 2011 #