One of the "Boys of Summer", Duke Snider who defeated the New York Yankees in 1955 to bring home the Brooklyn Dodgers' only World Series title, died today at a hospital in Escondido, California. He was 84.
Known as the "Duke of Flatbush," Snider was an eight-time All Star with 407 career home runs. He was one of three center-field greats -- including the New York Giants' Willie Mays and the Yankees' Mickey Mantle -- who helped turn the 1950s into New York's golden age of baseball.
During his 11 seasons in Brooklyn, Snider helped the Dodgers win six National League pennants and the 1955 World Series. (He won another World Series in 1959 after the Dodgers had moved to Los Angeles.) Inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980, he hit at least 40 home runs every year from 1953 to 1957, including the last one at the team's ballpark, Ebbets Field.
Snider later managed in the Dodgers’ and Padres’ farm systems and served as a broadcaster for the Padres and the Montreal Expos.
He is survived by his wife, Beverly; two sons, Kevin and Kurt; and and two daughters, Pam and Dawna.
