Brooklyn Dodgers Legend Duke Snider Dead At 84

Hall of Fame Brooklyn Dodgers player Duke Snider died today of natural causes at the age of 84. Snider played 18 seasons with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers (1947-62), New York Mets (1963), and San Francisco Giants (1964). "The Duke of Flatbush" made it to the World Series five times with Brooklyn, and winning in 1955 and 1959 (with LA). The eight-time All Star batted .295 with 407 home runs and 1,333 RBI in 2,143 games, and was a six-time top ten MVP finisher.

Born Edwin Donald Snider, he got his nickname at an early age, when his father noticed him returning home with a bit of a strut, and noted, “Here comes the Duke.” Also nicknamed "The Silver Fox" and "The Duke of Flatbush," he remains the Dodger franchise's all-time home run (389) and runs batted in (1,271) leader. Snider played during what many fans considered the city’s golden era of baseball, along with fellow outfielders Willie Mays of the Giants and Mickey Mantle of the Yankees; he was one of the last surviving members of the "Boys of Summer," who were memorialized in a book by Roger Kahn. Snider was also included in Terry Cashman's signature baseball ditty, "Talkin' Baseball - Willie, Mickey and the Duke".

Sportscaster Vin Scully, who called the Dodgers play-by-play when Snider was still in Brooklyn, said: "He was an extremely gifted talent and his defensive abilities were often overlooked because of playing in a small ballpark, Ebbets Field. When he had a chance to run and move defensively, he had the grace and the abilities of DiMaggio and Mays and of course, he was a World Series hero that will forever be remembered in the borough of Brooklyn. Although it’s ironic to say it, we have lost a giant. He’s joining a great Dodger team that has moved on and I extend my sympathies to his entire family, especially to Bev.”

When we interviewed author Michael Shapiro in 2009, he told us his fondest baseball memory: "First game at the Polo Grounds with my dad and my brother. Mets v. Dodgers. A kid tried to get Duke Snider's autograph by hanging it over the grandstand railing. Duke tied the string to a water cooler."