My Interview with Andrew Mele, Author of The Boys of Brooklyn

Hey baseball fans! I recently had the honor of interviewing Andrew Mele, the author of the book, The Boys of Brooklyn. The book is about how baseball was very important to Brooklynites back in the days of Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese and Duke Snider. It explains how a lot of baseball players from Brooklyn played in a park called […]

The Duke’s-Eye View

This has been a tough winter for baseball Hall of Famers. Sparky Anderson died in November, the seemingly indestructible Bob Feller left us in December, and now Duke Snider is gone. I never got to meet Snider, which I’m told was my loss. But he was the protagonist in one of my favorite Hall of […]

Talkin’ Baseball: And Then There Was One… RIP, Duke Snider

Former Brooklyn Dodgers outfielder Duke Snider has passed away. The Hall-of-Famer died of natural causes this morning at the age of 84 at the Valle Vista Convalescent Hospital in Escondido, Calif. Snider was a part of the fabled “Boys of Summer” with the Dodgers in the late-1940s and 1950s. He helped lead the club to […]

We Lose Duke Snider, Aged 84

I had the pleasure of meeting Duke Snider and his wife Beverly, in London back in 1980. I was 17 years old at the time; playing baseball with one of Britain’s most successful baseball teams, and had written to Duke asking him for hitting tips. A couple of months later the phone rang at our […]

Gene Dellinger: 138th Former Pro Dead in WWII

Gene Dellinger out hit Hall of Famer Duke Snider when they both played for the Newport News Dodgers in 1944. But died less than two years later while serving with the Army in Europe.

What was He Supposed to Do?

Who knew a World Series could bring such pain? Fresh off toppling the rival Yankees in 1955, Dodgers Walter O’Malley could only rejoice for so long. Decisions loomed. Death, in a sense, was palpable. O’Malley staved off it off as long as he could. In “Forever Blue,” Pulitzer Prize winner Michael D’Antonio guides readers through […]

Andre Dawson and the Hall, A Perspective

So, Andre Dawson is in the Hall of Fame as a member of the Montreal Expos. He’s the third former Expos player to be inducted, following Gary Carter and Tony Perez. Manager Dick Williams and coach Duke Snider are also in and there’s a good chance that John McHale will join them posthumously some day. […]

Hammering Away with Henry

For much of his life, Henry Aaron has felt marginalized. Hank Aaron arguably sits atop the baseball pyramid as its home run king. But what about Henry? Blessed with baseball talent that landed him among the best all-around players ever, Hank Aaron assumed a public persona. Meanwhile, “The Hammer” effectively subjugated his private side, Henry. […]