PSA BatFacts™

When it comes to Duke Snider bats, there is one player characteristic that is unique to The Silver Fox. As seen in many vintage photos, Snider would often apply a criss-cross taping method along the handle to enhance his grip. It is unlike any taping method from the era. This not only gives Snider bats great character, but it also provides excellent evidence about use. Very few bats today have the original tape intact. Some Snider bats are found with only the remnants of tape residue along the handle, but this still places the bat in his hands. Snider gamers are often found with his uniform number (4) on the knob from the mid-to-latter part of his career. The number is usually fairly small in size and written in black marker. Keep in mind that Snider did wear number "11" (first season with the New York Mets) and "28" (San Francisco Giants). An autographed 1950s example sold for $18,751 in 2003.

Edwin Donald “Duke” Snider (1926-2011) was the hard-hitting centerfielder of the highly power-laden Brooklyn Dodgers of the 1940s and ‘50s. Snider was among three Hall of Fame centerfielders of the era alongside New York Giant, Willie Mays, and New York Yankee, Mickey Mantle. Known as “The Duke of Flatbush”, Snider outgunned the rest of the league during the 1950s, hitting more home runs than any other player with 326. Duke was an eight-time All-Star selection, was a member of six National League pennant winners and helped lead the Dodger to two World Series championships (1955 and 1959).  Snider player primarily for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1947-1962) with one-year stints with the Mets (1963) and the San Francisco Giants (1964) before retiring at the end of the 1964 season. Duke Snider was the last player to hit a home run in historic Ebbet’s Field in 1957 prior to the franchise moving to Los Angeles. Duke Snider retired with 2,116 hits, 1,259 runs, 1,333 RBI 407, home runs and a .295 career batting average. Edwin Donald “Duke” Snider was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1980.