Dodger Stadium
60th Anniversary
Posted Thursday October 13th 2022
Gil Hodges #14
His first two positions in the Majors were at third base and at catcher, but Gil Hodges eventually found a home at first base and became an anchor to a Dodger dynasty that captured five N.L. pennants betveen 1949 and 1956. Hodges was a member of Brooklyn's only World Series champion in 1955 and the Dodgers first champion on the West Coast in 1959.
His first two positions in the Majors were at third base and at catcher, but Gil Hodges eventually found a home at first base and became an anchor to a Dodger dynasty that captured five N.L. pennants betveen 1949 and 1956. Hodges was a member of Brooklyn's only World Series champion in 1955 and the Dodgers first champion on the West Coast in 1959.
Gilbert Ray Hodges (April 4, 1924 – April 2, 1972) was an American first baseman and manager in Major League Baseball who played most of his 18-year career for the Brooklyn / Los Angeles Dodgers. An eight-time All-Star, he anchored the infield on six pennant winners, and remains one of the most beloved and admired players in team history.Gil Hodges:
- He was widely regarded as the major leagues' outstanding first baseman in the 1950s
- Duke Snider was the only player to have more home runs or runs batted in during the decade
- Hodges held the National League (NL) record for career home runs by a right-handed hitter from 1960 to 1963
- His final total of 370 briefly ranking tenth in major league history
- He held the NL record for career grand slams from 1957 to 1974
- A sterling defensive player, Hodges won the first three Gold Glove Awards and led the NL in double plays four times and in putouts, assists and fielding percentage three times each
- He ranked second in NL history with 1,281 assists and 1,614 double plays when his career ended, and was among the league's career leaders in games (6th, 1,908) and total chances (10th, 16,751) at first base
Gil HodgesHe managed the New York Mets to the 1969 World Series title, one of the greatest upsets in sports history, before his death from a sudden heart attack at age 47He was inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame in 1982, and into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2022.
