The Duke of Brooklyn

Duke Snider VintageCardtraders

Back when the baseball fans in New York were split among three teams, Duke Snider was the glory of the Brooklyn (now Los Angeles) Dodgers. As a free agent signed by the Dodgers in 1943, Snider made his debut in 1947 against the Boston Braves. Although he helped to win that game with a pinch-hit single, his debut was overshadowed by Jackie Robinson, who broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball two days prior. Snider played his first full season with the Dodgers in 1949, finishing with a .292 batting average and 92 RBI.’s. Snider earned himself a fan club the following year.

Snider is the only person to hit four home-runs twice in a World Series. While still in Brooklyn, he took the Dodgers to the World Series five times, leading them to their only World Series win against the New York Yankees in 1955 after years of defeat. This gave Brooklyn its first and only World Series championship. Snider was awarded 1955 ML Major League Player of the year.

Snider's teammate Tommy Lasorda offer this in regards to his recent passing, “I was Duke’s teammate and looked up to him with respect. Duke was not only a great player, but he was a great person, too. He loved his family and loved the Dodgers. He was the true Dodger and represented the Dodgers to the highest degree of class, dignity and character. He was my teammate and friend and I will really miss him.” Source: TimesUnion


1955 World Series Duke Snider

The back end of Willie Mays' historic career

Willie Mays/ Wikimedia Commons

After Willie Mays’ dominant 1965 season where he won his second MVP, his production began to decline. Nonetheless Mays still was a very effective player in this stage of his career. Mays won three more Gold Gloves from 1966-69 giving him twelve for his career which is tied for most all time among outfielders. Despite being in the latter stage of his career he remained a perennial All-Star.


As one would expect, Mays lost much of his power and speed with age. This resulted in a steep decline his home run and stolen base totals. To cope with his deteriorating natural ability he worked on his plate discipline. Mays averaged more walks per 162 games after 1965 than prior to it and was able to set career highs in walks and OBP in 1971 with 112 and .425 respectively. Both of these numbers led the league.

In the twilight of his career Mays was traded to the Mets for pitcher Charlie Williams. Although he was just a part time player with the Mets, the fans were thrilled to see him back in New York. Mays hit a game winning home run in his first game with the Mets and had the opportunity to play in the 1973 World Series in which he drove in the game winning RBI in the twelfth inning of game two. The Mets went on to lose the series in what would be the last season of Mays’ historic career.

Mays retired with an unparalleled resume which includes his 20 All-Star game appearances, 12 Gold Gloves, 2 MVP's and more home runs then any other center fielder in history. Many people consider Mays the greatest player of all time including former San Francisco Giants manager Charlie Fox who claimed, "This man dominates a game like no other player in the history of the game. I don't think there is any play he can't make." Hall of Fame pitcher Sandy Koufax agrees with Fox stating, "I can't believe that Babe Ruth was a better player than Willie Mays. Ruth is to baseball what Arnold Palmer is to golf. He got the game moving. But I can't believe he could run as well as Mays, and I can't believe he was any better an outfielder."

Willie Mays: The Hall of Famer Whose Start Was Not So Major

Willie Mays / 1955 Topps via Virtual Card Collection

Willie Mays is arguably one of the best players ever in the game of baseball. The right-handed centerfielder born on May 6th in Westfield, Alabama, stood 5’10” and weighed 170 pounds. After a prolific 22 season career, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979, his first year of eligibility.

Surprisingly, this Hall of Famer had a very disappointing start in the majors in 1951 playing for the New York Giants. He was hitless in his first twelve at-bats. This was a shock to everyone, as he had a batting average of .477, along with eight home runs and 35 RBIs in 35 games played in Triple-A Minneapolis. Even before the minors he had a solid reputation, as he led the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League to the championships and helped them win it all in 1948 at the young age of 17.

His first hit was a homer in 1951 over the left field fence of the Polo Grounds off pitcher Warren Spahn of the Braves. Spahn remembered the moment, "He was something like zero for twenty-one the first time I saw him. His first major league hit was a home run off me and I'll never forgive myself. We might have gotten rid of Willie forever if I'd only struck him out." Other than that, his first two years were relatively quiet with 121 games played and 60 strikeouts and .409 slugging.

Then in 1952 Mays was drafted by the Army and served 22 months in the Korean War. His time overseas really sparked his bat, as he had a complete turnaround and led the league in numerous statistical categories. In 1954 he led the league in slugging with .667 and OPS (on-base percentage + slugging) with a total of 1.078.

Later that season he went on to make one of the greatest catches ever seen in baseball history. It occurred in Game 1 of the 1954 World Series between the New York Giants and the Cleveland Indians in the Polo Grounds in New York. The score was 2-2 and it was the top of the 8th inning, with nobody out and runners on 1st and 2nd base. Known simply as "The Catch", Mays was able to make a catch on-the-run over his shoulder while facing the bleachers to record the out. What made this catch possible was the unusually deep center field at the Polo Grounds, which was 483 feet away from home plate. This catch is one of the most memorable ones because in addition to it's degree of difficulty, it is also remembered because of its importance. Immediately after he had the ball, Mays spun and threw the ball with a mighty heave to the infield, losing his hat in the process. This prevented the runners on base from scoring. The Giants then went on to win the game, and later to sweep the Indians in four games, arguably because "The Catch" prevented the Indians from winning the first game.

He later went on to make 24 All-Star Game appearances in 20 seasons and win Gold Gloves every year from 1957-1968. His superstar career proved to be amazing, and its start definitely deceived everyone immersed in the world of baseball.

Little Man in a Big Man's Game

Spud Webb against Manute Bol / Vedia - Flickr

Spud Webb, former Atlanta Hawks' player, was the most unexpected NBA Slam Dunk Contest winner in the history of the NBA. With a 42 inch leap, he managed to beat his team mate Dominique Wilkins in the 1986 contest in Dallas Texas with two perfect 50-point scores in the final round. "I brought back dunks I haven't used since high school," said Webb in a Dallas News interview. His arsenal of dunks included elevator two-handed double pump dunk, the one-handed off the backboard one-handed jam, a 360-degree helicopter one-handed dunk, a 180-degree reverse double-pump slam, and finally, the 180-degree reverse two-handed strawberry jam with a bounce off of the floor. Webb's small hands and inability to palm the ball did not hinder his performance. It just made him work harder, adding alley-oops or a bounce to each dunk. Winning the Slam Dunk contest was the crowning achievement of his 12 year career.

Webb is currently the third shortest person to ever compete in the NBA, behind Tyrone “Muggsy” Bogues and Earl Boykins, and the shortest to ever play in the NBA Slam Dunk Contest. He later trained New York Knicks 5'9" point guard, Nate Robinson, who eventually won three Slam Dunk Contests. Webb also was a judge for the 2010 Dunk contest in Dallas. It was the first time the event has been in Dallas since his win in 1986. Webb enjoyed his stardom of being and coaching a small man in a big man's game.

Classic Vinsanity

Steve Lipofsky / Wikimedia Commons

Vince Carter is possibly one of the greatest dunk performers ever, performing ferocious dunks with ease. Vince Carter won the 2000 NBA Slam Dunk Contest held in Oakland, California advancing to the first round with 100 points and beating Steve Francis and Tracy McGrady in the finals. What made this dunk contest unique was the fact that there was a NBA lockout in 1999 which prevented that year’s dunk contest from taking place. In 2000 Carter brought back the excitement of the dunk to the crowd. There was no doubt that he would win the contest as audiences were awed by his athletic abilities. He scored 98 points, 7 points higher than second place Francis in the final round. Carter electrified the contest starting with a reverse 360 windmill and kept the momentum going to make the biggest highlight of the night with a between-the-legs dunk off an alley-oop from McGrady.

Carter’s aerial abilities allowed him to make a stepping stone for his career when he won the 2000 Slam Dunk Contest. Carter led his team, the Toronto Raptors, into their first playoff in the 2000 NBA playoff. Carter became the Raptors' franchise player and was voted into the All-Star Team starting lineup numerous times. During the 2003 All-Star game he gave up his All-Star spot so franchise great Michael Jordan could participate in his final start as an All-Star. Carter became one of only three players along with Michael Jordan and Julius Erving to lead the NBA All-Star game fan voting on at-least three occasions. Due to injuries and safety reasons, fans never got to see “Vinsanity” perform seemingly impossible dunks in the dunk contest again.

"J-Rich's" Back to Back Successes

Jason Richardson / Keith Allison (Wikimedia Commons)

Jason Richardson, also known as “J-Rich” is among one of only five men to win the NBA Slam Dunk Contest more than once in the 27 years that is has taken place. The former Golden State Warrior clinched the victory in February 2003 while withstanding great pressure from his competitors. Richardson's victory required extra innovation in order to top the behind-the-head two-handed windmill dunk that made him winner of the 2002 Slam Dunk Contest. 

For the 2003 competition, he brought out a powerful windmill off of a bounce dunk to outdo Amar’e Stoudemire’s nearly perfect score of 49. Richardson advanced to the final round with Desmond Mason who quickly became the crowd and judges favorite to win after executing a left handed under-the-leg dunk. J-Rich responded with a reverse between-the-leg, behind-the-head dunk to seal him a perfect score of 50 from the judges. Mason gave Richardson a run for his money throughout the contest though by keeping the score close and ended with 93 compared to Rich’s score of 96.

In 2005, an NBA.com poll qualified Richardson’s 2003 winning dunk as the number one dunk of all time. This acclaimed success placed the rising athlete above legends such as Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Spud Webb in the eyes of basketball fans around the globe. Richardson credited Gilbert Arenas in an NBA.com interview as the one who gave him the idea for the winning dunk that has been praised countless times. Interestingly enough, the first time that Richardson actually did it perfectly was in the Slam Dunk Contest itself.

Richardson had not always been so well known and he faced the task of distinguishing himself despite being a new player at the time. He was the fifth overall pick of the Golden State Warriors in the 2001 NBA Draft and became a Rookie Challenge MVP the following year. Despite his recognition, Richardson failed to meet expectations in 2003, averaging about 15 points per game. It is Jason Richardson’s body of work in the dunking arena; however, that has made him immortal in the NBA’s list of legendary dunking champions.

Nate Robinson poisons the competition in the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest

Nate Robinson / Keith Allison

Nate Robinson, also known as “Nate the Great”, was the victor in the 2009 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest, which took place in Phoenix, Arizona. The reason he is called “Nate the Great” is because of his ability to wow the crowd. Standing at merely 5’9” and weighing 180 pounds, Nate impresses with his 43.5" vertical leap. The Seattle, Washington native has won multiple Slam Dunk Contests, but his most memorable one is by far this one because he dunked over Dwight Howard, who stands at a towering 6’11” and weighing in at 265 pounds.

Robinson was able to beat J. R. Smith and Rudy Fernández, in addition to the aforementioned Dwight Howard.

The interesting thing about this contest is that Robinson arrived prepared in the final round of the contest. As soon as Dwight Howard changed into the Superman gimmick by dunking on a 12 foot hoop, Nate went out and changed into the New York Knicks’ green uniform used on Saint Patrick’s Day, in addition to a lime-green pro-shooter arm sleeve and neon-green Nike Foamposite Lite basketball shoes. The significance of all the green is that he was symbolizing Kryptonite, or in his case, “Kryptonate." Kryptonite is Superman’s only known weakness, implying that Nate was going to weaken Dwight Howard.

Robinson’s signature dunk was the one-handed slam in which he leaped over Howard and cleared him. Howard got the opportunity to follow up with the last dunk. His final dunk was one where he did a Michael Jordan move and jumped from the free-throw line. As impressive as that was for a man of Howard’s build, it was Robinson’s creativity and originality that helped him secure the victory over Howard.