The late, great Duke Snider was a Hall of Fame center fielder of the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1947 to ’62. Nicknamed "The Duke of Flatbush," which of course referred to a borough in the city of Brooklyn, Snider was usually assigned to center field and was named to eight National League All-Star teams. He led the Dodgers to six different World Series appearances, helping them win two championships in 1955 and ‘59.
In 1953, however, Snider turned in a season to remember. Playing in 153 regular-season games, he led the league in runs scored (132), slugging percentage (.627) and on-base percentage (1.046). When it came to production, Snider was nothing less than prolific: 42 home runs, 126 RBI and a .336 batting average. Incredibly, he finished just third in the N.L. MVP balloting that season behind winner (and teammate) Roy Campanella and runner-up Eddie Mathews of the Milwaukee Braves. Nevertheless, in large part due to Snider’s clutch hitting, the Dodgers won the National League pennant going away with a phenomenal 105-49 record, finishing 13 games ahead of the runner-up Braves. In the World Series, however, eerily reminiscent of what happened to the Dodgers in both ’49 and ’52, Brooklyn lost to the New York Yankees. This time around it took six games to decide their fate.
This lot features Duke Snider’s 1953 Brooklyn Dodgers National League Champions 10K gold ring. Sporting a blue sapphire on top framed by four small genuine diamonds on the face, the face is encircled by raised text reading: "National League Champions." Each identical shank announces the "1953" vintage and team logo on either side of a splendidly detailed Ebbets Field portico in miniature. Interior band is stamped "Balfour 10k" and engraved "Duke Snider" in artful script. The ring measures to a size 10 and weighs 26 grams. An incredible keepsake from a Dodgers’ fan favorite who was voted into Cooperstown in 1980.
Includes copy of Duke Snider's 11/15/1985 LOA.