Duke Snider (1926-2011) was a center fielder in MLB. He mostly played for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1947-1962, finishing his career with one season for the New York Mets in 1963 and one season for the San Francisco Giants in 1964. Called Duke since his father nicknamed him at the age of 5, he was also nicknamed The Silver Fox and The Duke of Flatbush.
His career achievements include a .295 batting average, 2,116 hits, 407 home runs, 1,333 runs batted in, 8 time All Star, and NL MVP runner up in 1955, to go along with a World Series championship in 1955 and 1959.
Snider grew up in Southern California, and he was an all around great athlete with talents in basketball, football, and baseball. Classmates and townspeople say that he could throw a football 70 yards.
Scouted as a senior in high school, Snider entered the minor leagues in 1944, but he left for the U.S. Navy in 1945 and part of 1946. After returning in 1947, Snider was given his shot with the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. Though he was sent down to the minors in July, Snider was brought back up for the Dodgers loss in the 1947 World Series.
After a similar season in 1948, Snider solidified his position on the Dodgers in 1949, and he became an integral part of the team. He continued to grow as a player and as a major part of the Dodgers excellent hitting team. He had a .321 batting average in 1950.
Snider was runner up in 1955 in NL MVP voting trailing Roy Campanella 226-221. In an incredibly controversial move, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America allowed the vote of Tracy Ringolsby. Injured, hospitalized, and discombobulated, Ringolsby is widely believed to have accidentally voted for Campanella. The vote was originally discounted, which gave Snider the victory, but Snider was robbed when the BBWAA reinstated the vote.
Snider began to decline when the team moved to Los Angeles in part due to the 440-foot right field fence at the Coliseum, which held him to 15 runs. He had a brief renaissance in 1959, and he helped lead the Dodgers to the 1959 World Series victory. In that year he hit .308 with 23 home runs and 88 RBI.
His play quickly declined from there, and he was a part time player by 1961. One notable late career impact was Snider’s influence on Cy Young Award winner Don Drysdale. The two roomed together, and Drysdale reportedly broke down when Snider was sent to the New York Mets.
Though his career was largely ending, Snider was able to record his 2,000th hit and 400th home run, both of which certainly helped him be inaugurated into the Hall of Fame. Additionally, Snider was a fan favorite for former Dodgers fans who were now Mets fans.
He finished his career with a mediocre performance in San Francisco. Snider was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980. His number 4 is retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers.
1949 Bowman Duke Snider
The 1949 Bowman has 240 cards that measure 2 1/16” x 2 ½”. The black and white photos feature a number of key players like Satchel Paige,
Stan Musial, Bob Feller, and Duke Snider. This is an important post WWII set that helped fill the gap with a national set before Topps could start producing.
There are several hundred Snider cards registered by PSA. 13 of them are Mint and one is Gem Mint. The Gem Mint card sold for $57,575 in 2007, and Mint copies have sold for between $30,000 and $50,000 since 2017. To find a copy below $1,000, you would have to go down to a PSA 6.
1952 Topps Duke Snider
A major card for Duke Snider is his display on the 1952 Topps because it is one of the most important sets in the hobby. There are 407 cards in the set which measure 2 ⅝” x 3 ¾”. Snider was included in the first Series at card #37, which was considered the New York area “heroes.”
There are nearly 1000 cards registered by PSA of this Snider card. There is one registered sale of a PSA 9 which sold for $17,328 in 2015. A PSA 7 will sell for about $500.
1952 Bowman Duke Snider
There are 252 cards that measure at 2 ⅛” x 3 ⅛” in this set which strongly resembles the 1951 Bowman. Though the 1952 Bowman is largely overshadowed by the 1952 Topps, it is a well respected color art set.
There are nearly 1000 cards of Snider registered by PSA. There are only a few Mint condition cards available on the market, and those have sold for a few thousand each since 2005. PSA 8’s can be bought for around $500.
1953 Bowman Color Duke Snider
In 1953 Bowman had the exclusive contracts of a few players, including Duke Snider. Thus, there is no Snider card on the 1953 Topps. Snider
would return and remain with Topps the next year. Meanwhile, stars like Willie Mays and Jackie Robinson were with Topps in 1953.
There are 160 cards in this set which measure 2 ½” x 3 ¾”. Bowman was trying to outmaneuver Topps after Topps’ impressive 1952 rendition. The photos in the 1953 Bowman are exceptionally vivid, to say the least. Bowman went all out in the face of new competition with vivid details and colors. Obviously, it was not enough.
There are over 800 cards registered by PSA for this Duke Snider card. There have not been many sales of top graded cards, but Mint cards have sold for several thousand. By the time you drop to a PSA 7, cards sell for around $700.
Conclusion
There are a number of good options for Duke Snider cards, especially most of Bowman’s run and Topps cards from the 1950s and 1960s. Additionally, for the hardcore collector, there are a bunch of odds and ends cards from a number of oddball producers like meat or cereal companies.
Duke Snider had a great career, and he was a big part of some big time MLB teams which went on to win the World Series. His cards help to represent a well respected career. Even though he barely missed out on the MVP award, he was still brought in and remembered by the Hall of Fame.