Duke Snider, the centerfielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers from the late '40s to the early '60s (when the team had moved out to L.A.) died today at age 84.
Snider was my favorite ballplayer of all-time (by virtue of him playing for my favorite hometown team). He hit with power and he had a quiet elegance about him.
He was a third of the three greatest centerfielders in NYC at the same time (the two others were Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays). Snider's stats for the years that the three played together in NYC were every bit as good as those for Mickey and Willie.
Some years ago Don Cardi surprised me with a gift of an autographed photo of Snider. It's been hanging on my wall since, and now has an even greater significance to me.
