Edwin "Duke" Snider
 |
| 1952 Topps #37 Card Image via ebay |
Related source » Dodgers' Hall of Fame OF Snider passes awayBefore an American boy's first infatuation with a girl there is his love affair with his sports hero. Culminating in my thirteenth year the demigod of my universe was "The Duke of Flatbush".
[This related source is recommended in its entirety.]
“Los Angeles native and long-time Dodgers outfielder Duke Snider passed away at the age of 84. […] His best season during the run was 1955, when Brooklyn finally overcame the Yankees to win the Fall Classic -- its last while playing in [Brooklyn] New York. Snider hit .309 with 42 homers, 136 RBI and scored 126 runs, eventually finishing second in NL MVP voting to teammate Roy Campanella.”
—BY SPORTS NETWORK, 02.27.11 (miamiherald.com)
In those days I was the odd-man-out, so to speak. My friends on Long Island were either Yankees fans or Giants fans. But my mood was totally governed by the (mis)fortunes of the Brooklyn Dodgers, and especially by how well The Duke did at the plate. In the field, he could always be counted on to snag gracefully every fly ball hit to center, occasionally digging a would-be homer out of the first row of seats behind the fence.
On the rare occasion that I could watch a ball-game broadcast from Ebbets Field, on our 13" black-and-white TV, I could instantly determine by the ball's trajectory leaving Duke's bat whether it would clear the tall right-field fence. When it sailed over that fence into the dark night, my day was made.
Thanks for those glorious memories, Duke.
R.I.P.
Post 1,580 The "Michael Jordan" of My Youth
No comments:
Post a Comment