Remembering Baseball Royalty: The Duke of Flatbush
One of the last of The Boys of Summer is gone. Edwin Donald “Duke” Snider (1926-2011) passed away yesterday. The Duke was known for many things: he was a great center fielder with a bullet arm, and he was a power hitter. Along with Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle, he was one of the trio of center fielders for New York’s three teams (the Dodgers, Giants and Yankees) who captivated New York sports fans — and inspired the song Willie, Mickey and the Duke.
Snider was called up to the majors by the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1948, and became a star the next year, his first full season at the Dodgers old stadium in Flatbush, Brooklyn. But he slumped badly in 1951, the same season the Dodgers blew a 13-game lead to the Giants. Under a barrage of booing and media criticism, Snider demanded to be traded. But owner Walter O’Malley turned him down, and that turned out to be a smart move. The Duke proved his claims to baseball royalty, hitting 40 or more homers a year from 1953-1957.
But perhaps his biggest contribution to his team, to baseball and to society was his role as one of the leaders of the team that broke the color barrier. The Duke wasn’t on the team when Jackie Robinson became the first African-American players in the majors. But thoughout the 1950s, as more and more teams integrated, the Dodgers were known as the center of the movement, as described in Roger Kahn’s The Boys of Summer. Part of the reason baseball’s integration helped lead to America’s is because of the success of the Dodgers on the field, and their team spirit both on and off it.
Duke Snider was part of that history, which makes him a part – even if a small part — of American history.