The Duke of Flatbush

Fans look on as Brooklyn Dodgers center fielder Duke Snider gets a kiss from Kathy Cariani at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, as the Dodgers met the St. Louis Cardinals, Sept. 16, 1950. Snider holds a cake for his 24th birthday. Born Edwin Donald Snider, he got his nickname at an early age. Noticing his son return home from a game with somewhat of a strut, Snider's dad said, "Here comes the Duke."

Brooklyn Dodgers' Duke Snider is greeted by the batboy after his second homer of Game 6 of the World Series against the New York Yankees at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, Oct. 6, 1952. Snider hit at least 40 home runs in five straight seasons and led the NL in total bases three times.

Brooklyn Dodgers' Duke Snider bats in a game from the 1950s. Snider wore No. 4 in Dodger blue, and was often regarded as the third-best center fielder in New York -- behind Willie Mays of the Giants and Mickey Mantle of the Yankees -- during what many fans considered the city's golden era of baseball.

Some of the players in the race for the National League batting title that season pose in New York. From left are New York Giants' Willie Mays, Brooklyn Dodgers' Duke Snider, and Giants' Don Mueller, Sept. 21 1954.

Fans and teammates applaud Brooklyn Dodgers' Duke Snider (4) after his fifth-inning home run against the New York Yankees in a World Series game in Brooklyn, Oct. 2, 1955. Snider hit .309 with 42 home runs and a career-high 136 RBI in 1955. Snider hit four homers, drove in seven runs and hit .320 as the Dodgers beat the Yankees in a seven-game World Series.

Los Angeles Dodgers' Duke Snider poses for a photo during baseball spring training, March 1959. Snider stayed with the Dodgers when they moved to Los Angeles in 1958 and won another World Series ring the next year.

Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Larry Sherry, left, and center fielder Duke Snider embrace in the dressing room after the Dodgers defeated the Chicago White Sox to win the baseball World Series at Comiskey Park in Chicago, Ill.,Oct. 8, 1959.

o its only World Series championship in 1955. (AP Photo

Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Duke Snider poses before a game in Aug. 1962. Prematurely gray, "The Silver Fox" returned to New York with the bumbling Mets in 1963 and finished his career in 1964 with the San Francisco Giants, the Dodgers' longtime rivals.

Former Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodger Duke Snider, right, accepts a jersey with his No. 4, retired by the Dodgers, from club president Peter O'Malley at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles, July 6, 1980. Snider was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980 on his 11th try.

Don Drysdale, Roy Campanella, Sandy Koufax and Duke Snider are shown on the field before a Los Angeles Dodgers game at Dodger Stadium, April 1, 1990.

Former Brooklyn Dodger center fielder and Baseball Hall of Famer Duke Snider talks with reporters outside the Federal Courthouse in Brooklyn, N.Y., July 20, 1995. Snider pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud the government in filing a false tax return. He admitted to not reporting more than $97,000 in cash from autograph signings, card shows and memorabilia sales.

Former Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers center fielder Duke Snider waves to fans prior to the Dodgers' baseball game against the Houston Astros in Los Angeles, May 10, 2006.

AP Photo/Los Angeles Dodgers, Jon SooHoo

In a photo provided by the Los Angeles Dodgers, former Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodger Duke Snider poses with Don Mattingly at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles in this recent but undated photo.

Former Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodger Duke Snider poses at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.