There Goes the Duke

Duke Snider / Donruss

Edwin Donald Snider nicknamed "Duke" was the pride of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Snider had pride in winning his game, that’s why his father nicknamed him Duke. Snider hit 40 or more home runs each season from 1953 to 1957 and led Brooklyn to their only World Series in 1955. Snider was an exceptional player until 1960 when his ability diminished due to the team moving to Los Angeles and a bad knee. Snider’s impressive home run ability was not apparent as he hit only 15 home runs in 1958. Playing in the Los Angeles stadium was a big obstacle for the left handed slugger Snider because the right field fence was 440 feet away from the home plate. After playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers for five seasons and winning one World Series, he was sold to the New York Mets on April 1, 1963.

Snider was past his prime when he was playing for the Mets. He batted .243 with 14 home runs in 415 plate appearances. Due to Snider's request to play for a winning team he was sold to the San Francisco Giants in 1964 after playing for the Mets for one season. In San Francisco, Snider wore the number 28 uniform because his usual number 4 uniform was worn by Mel Ott and retired by the Giants. The Giants and Dodgers were always intense rivals of each other. It affected the Dodgers fans deeply when Snider played for the Giants. Their rivalry started when both teams were playing in New York and continued when both team moved to California. To Snider it was an honor for him to be compared to Willie Mays of the Giants and explains, "so we had a rivalry as a team, that was it." Snider was well liked and his fans will always consider him a part of the Dodgers. To his fans no one can dethrone the "Duke" and will always upheld him as number one in their hearts.