Duke Snyder

If you grew up in the 1950s and 1960s and were a baseball fan, the name Duke Snyder carried a certain aura of authority.  "Duke of Flatbush."  I loved the nickname and perhaps that, as much as his hard playing style, made me into a fan.  He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.  The Dodgers retired his Number 4.

Thinking about those years and big names of baseball that come to mind, Duke is there, of course, but also Gil Hodges, Mickey Mantle, Roberto Clemente, Yogi Berra, Whitey Ford, Don Drysdale and Sandy Koufax.  I guess the heavy influence of the Yankees and Dodgers in my early years is pretty evident here.

Duke Snyder died on February 27, 2011, at age 84.  He had a good life.  Because people remember him with affection and awe, he will live on forever.