Death Summary: Snider died at the Valle Vista Convalescent Hospital in Escondido, California of natural causes.

Who was Duke Snider : Duke Snider is a Hall of Fame center fielder, who many regard as the most famous Dodgers player ever. He's an eight time all-star, who never received a MVP award. However, he won two World Series, and is considered to be the third piece of the legendary New York center fielder trio including Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays.

Snider was born in Los Angeles, California, where he received the nickname 'Duke' from his father. He was a gifted athlete, who played basketball, football, and baseball. He was signed to a contract right out of high school, after being discovered by scouts in the early 1940's. He played for many teams in his minor league years, and served in the military in 1945.

He eventually earned a tryout with the Brooklyn Dodgers, and in 1948 he was called up to play for them during the middle of the season.

In 1949, he helped pave the way to a World Series appearance, after hitting 23 home runs and obtaining 92 RBI's. His average increased as well, and would exponentially increase in 1950 to a hefty .321. The next year Snider hit a slump and was starting to take heavy criticism. This eventually led him to request a trade, which never came to be. After his struggles in that season, Snider began to shine. He was a part of the legendary team, which was titled "Boys of Summer" in a well known book, written by Roger Kahn.

During Snider's time with the team, they won 6 out of 10 National League pennants. Of those six pennant wins, the Dodgers won two World Series.

Snider's career numbers are very impressive: .295 BA, 407 HR's, and 1,333 RBI's. All of them were achieved during a 18 year career.

In 1980, Snider was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in a landslide victory. He received 86% of the votes. In 'The Sporting News' all time players list, he is ranked #84 out of 100.

Snider is survived by his wife Beverly, whom he married in 1947.

Categories: Sports.