1963 FLEER EXTENSION SET: DUKE SNIDER

On the blog this fine day, we add Hall of Fame outfielder Duke Snider to my 1963 "Fleer Extension" set, adding to the custom set I produced a couple years back, with ideas of adding a second WTHBALLS series in the near future:

Came across this nice shot of the Duke at the end of his Dodger run, perfect for the set, so I figured "why not"?

Snider really was incredibly underrated over his career, which sadly (for him) coincided with the careers of men like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.

Nevertheless, all he would do in the Majors was hit, finishing his career in 1964, capping off a great 18-year Major League career that saw him make eight All-Star teams while posting six seasons where he finished in the top-10 for N.L. MVP.

Snider was an absolute beast of a hitter through the 1950's with the Dodgers, driving in over 100 runs six times, 30+ homers six times including five straight seasons of 40 or more, five years of scoring over 100 runs and seven seasons of .300 hitting or better.

A HUGE cog in the Brooklyn Dodger machine of the 1950s, he was also part of the "Holy Trinity of New York center-fielders of the era, along with Willie Mays of the New York Giants and Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees.

What a time it must have been to be a young baseball fan!

 

VINTAGE SPECIAL! "MISSING" 1954 WILSON'S FRANKS DUKE SNIDER

On the blog today, my "missing" 1954 Wilson's Franks card for the "Duke of Flatbush", Duke Snider of the Brooklyn Dodgers:

From my wildly successful custom set released a few months ago, Snider would have been another great card had it been originally released way back when!

Snider really was incredibly underrated over his career, which sadly (for him) coincided with the careers of men like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.

Nevertheless, all he would do in the Majors was hit, finishing his career in 1964, capping off a great 18-year Major League career that saw him make eight All-Star teams while posting six seasons where he finished in the top-10 for N.L. MVP.

Snider was an absolute beast of a hitter through the 1950's with the Dodgers, driving in over 100 runs six times, 30+ homers six times including five straight seasons of 40 or more, five years of scoring over 100 runs and seven seasons of .300 hitting or better.

A HUGE cog in the Brooklyn Dodger machine of the 1950s, he was also part of the "Holy Trinity of New York center-fielders of the era, along with Willie Mays of the New York Giants and Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees.

What a time it must have been to be a young baseball fan!

"CLASSIC BASEBALL" CUSTOM WTHBALLS SET: DUKE SNIDER

The next baseball legend to get a card in my future "Classic Baseball" custom set, the "Duke of Flatbush" Duke Snider, Hall of Fame center fielder for the Brooklyn Dodgers during the "Golden Age" of baseball:

Just a beautiful shot of the man during the prime of his career.

Snider really was incredibly underrated over his career, which sadly (for him) coincided with the careers of men like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.

Nevertheless, all he would do in the Majors was hit, finishing his career in 1964, capping off a great 18-year Major League career that saw him make eight All-Star teams while posting six seasons where he finished in the top-10 for N.L. MVP.

Snider was an absolute beast of a hitter through the 1950's with the Dodgers, driving in over 100 runs six times, 30+ homers six times including five straight seasons of 40 or more, five years of scoring over 100 runs and seven seasons of .300 hitting or better.

A HUGE cog in the Brooklyn Dodger machine of the 1950s, he was also part of the "Holy Trinity of New York center-fielders of the era, along with Willie Mays of the New York Giants and Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees.

What a time it must have been to be a young baseball fan!

 

1960'S CAREER-CAPPERS INSERTS: DUKE SNIDER

Today on the blog we feature my Duke Snider insert from my "1960's Career-Cappers" custom set from a few years ago, one of my favorite sets produced since I started the WTHBALLS blog:

The "Duke of Flatbush" was incredibly underrated over his career, which sadly (for him) coincided with the careers of men like Mickey mantle, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron.

Nevertheless, all he would do in the Majors was hit, finishing his career with the San Francisco Giants in 1964, capping off a great 18-year Major League career that saw him make eight All-Star teams while post six seasons where he finished in the top-10 for N.L. MVP.

Snider was an absolute beast of a hitter through the 1950's with the Dodgers, driving in over 100 runs six times, 30+ homers six times including five straight seasons of 40 or more, five years of scoring over 100 runs and seven seasons of .300 hitting or better.

A HUGE cog in the Brooklyn Dodger machine of the 1950s, he was also part of the "Holy Trinity of New York center-fielders of the era, along with Willie Mays of the New York Giants and Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees.

What a time it must have been to be a young baseball fan!

"MINOR LEAGUE DAYS": LEGENDS EDITION: DUKE SNIDER

Up on the blog today, the newest "Legend" we add to my 1971 "Minor League Days Legends Edition", Duke Snider of the Brooklyn Dodgers:

Before becoming one of the great power-hitting players in the National League in the 1950s, Snider put in some time with the Montreal Royals of AAA in 1947, hitting .327 with 17 homers and 77 runs batted in over 77 games, giving the Dodger fans a better idea of what to expect after a brief Big League call up the previous year when he played in 40 games, hitting .241 as a 20-year-old.

All he would do from then on was hit, finishing his career with the San Francisco Giants in 1964, capping off a great 18-year Major League career that saw him make eight All-Star teams while post six seasons where he finished in the top-10 for N.L. MVP.

Snider was an absolute beast of a hitter through the 1950's with the Dodgers, driving in over 100 runs six times, 30+ homers six times including five straight seasons of 40 or more, five years of scoring over 100 runs and seven seasons of .300 hitting or better.

A HUGE cog in the Brooklyn Dodger machine of the 1950s, he was also part of the "Holy Trinity of New York center-fielders of the era, along with Willie Mays of the New York Giants and Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees.

What a time it must have been to be a young baseball fan!

1960'S CAREER-CAPPERS: 1965 DUKE SNIDER

Up on the blog today, we visit another of my previous custom sets, and spotlight a card, this time my 1965 "career-capper" for the great Duke Snider:

Snider played 91 games for San Francisco in 1964, capping off a great 18-year Major League career that saw him make eight All-Star teams while post six seasons where he finished in the top-10 for N.L. MVP.

Snider was an absolute beast of a hitter through the 1950's with the Dodgers, driving in over 100 runs six times, 30+ homers six times including five straight seasons of 40 or more, five years of scoring over 100 runs and seven seasons of .300 hitting or better.

By the time he retired after the 1964 season he hit 407 homers, with 1333 RBIs and a .295 average, with 2116 hits and 1259 runs scored over 18 seasons as a player.

It must have been painful for Dodger-faithful to see their beloved "Duke of Flatbush" suit up for the Giants, something Giants fans had to deal with about 10 years later with their beloved ace Juan Marichal.

Go figure.

COACH CARD: 1970 DUKE SNIDER

Good day all! Found this cool image of Hall of Famer Duke Snider during his San Diego Padres coaching days and figured it'd make for a nice card, so here it is:

 

After a Hall of Fame career between 1947 and 1964, mainly slugging his way into the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers record books, Snider took on a successful role as a play-by-play analyst and some coaching for both the San Diego Padres and Montreal Expos beginning in 1969 straight through to the late-80’s.
This included some coaching time with the Padres during their inaugural season of 1969, when San Diego and Montreal were given franchises in Major League ball.

Snider was an absolute beast of a hitter through the 1950's with the Dodgers, driving in over 100 runs six times, 30+ homers six times including five straight seasons of 40 or more, five years of scoring over 100 runs and seven seasons of .300 hitting or better.

By the time he retired after the 1964 season he hit 407 homers, with 1333 RBIs and a .295 average, with 2116 hits and 1259 runs scored over 18 seasons as a player.

TURN BACK THE CLOCK: 1978- 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF WEST COAST MAJOR LEAGUE BALL

Today on the blog I thought it’d be fun (yet still painful for many here in the NYC area) to create a 1978 “Turn Back the Clock” card celebrating the debut of West Coast baseball in the Major Leagues, with the sudden departure of both the New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers from the New York metropolitan area over the off-season:

 

  

As we all know by know, after failed negotiations with the city and state for new and improved “modern” ballparks, the owners of both much-loved New York City National League teams agreed to take the organizations West, the Giants to San Francisco and the Dodgers to Los Angeles, leaving a HUGE hole in the hearts of many.

Both teams did flourish in their new digs, becoming powerhouses with stars like Willie Mays, Duke Snider, Sandy Koufax, Willie McCovey et. Al, lending the aura of the West Coast an even larger presence in American culture through the early-70’s.

On April 15^th, 1958, the Dodgers squared off against the Giants, with San Francisco winning the game 8-0 on a Ruben Gomez shutout, in the very first game played on the West Coast in Major League history, played at Seal’s Stadium in San Francisco.

I can’t even imagine what this must have been like for Dodger and Giant fans here on the East Coast, crushed by the reality of their teams now located over 3000 miles away.

1975 COACH CARD- DUKE SNIDER

I found another great image of Hall of Famer Duke Snider during his brief tenure as a Montreal Expos coach, so I wanted to create a 1975 edition to add to my 1974 version that I created a few years ago, so here goes:

After a Hall of Fame career between 1947 and 1964, mainly slugging his way into the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers record books, Snider took on a successful role as a play-by-play analyst for both the San Diego Padres and Montreal Expos beginning in 1969 straight through to the late-80’s.
In between, during the 1974 and 1975 seasons, he was the Expos hitting coach, so why not create a coach card for the legend?
I may even go and create a 1976 edition as well in the near future if I can snag another image from the period.

1970'S COACH CARD: 1974 DUKE SNIDER

After I created the 1973 coach card for Warren Spahn a few weeks ago, it got me interested in producing more cards for great players who coached during the decade.
Today I go with former Brooklyn Dodger all-time great Duke Snider, who coached a bit in Montreal after his playing days were over.
Take a look:

After a Hall of Fame career between 1947 and 1964, mainly slugging his way into the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers record books, Snider took on a successful role as a play-by-play analyst for both the San Diego Padres and Montreal Expos beginning in 1969 straight through to the late-80’s.
In between, during the 1974 and 1975 seasons, he was the Expos hitting coach, thus the 1974 card I produced for him here.
I remember that Bob Lemke did a 1975 version, so I figured the ‘74 would close out the Duke’s coaching tenure on cards.
If you like this idea check back in the future as I create cards for the likes of Vada Pinson, Willie Mays and Joe DiMaggio.