Gil Hodges
Gil Hodges (April 4 1924 - April 2 1972) was an American baseball player in Major League Baseball. He played for the Brooklyn & Los Angeles Dodgers (1943, 1947-61) and New York Mets (1962-63).
Hodges was signed by the Dodgers as a third baseman. After serving in the US Marine Corps during World War II, he returned to Brooklyn and was made the backup catcher. He was shortly there after moved to first, turning in one of the best defensive first basemen in baseball history. He received the MLB Gold Glove Award between 1957 and 1959.
A member of the World Champion 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers, Hodges hit 370 home runs in his career, held the National League record for grand slams (14) for several years, and he is a member of the exclusive club of players that have hit four home runs in a single game. Also, he had more RBI during the 1950's than any other player (1001), and was an 8-time All-Star (1949-55, 1957).
Hodges was one of the original 1962 Mets. A year later, he retired from playing and went on to manage the Washington Senators (1963-67). In 1968 he was brought back to manage the Mets and led them to the World Series Championship in 1969. He retired of managing at the end of the 1971 season.
Milton J. Shapiro wrotes a biography about Hodges, and Hodges himself wrote a book with Frank Slocum called The Game Of Baseball. Beside this, a bridge between Brooklyn and Rockaway, a park on Carroll St. and a Little League field on MacDonald Ave. in Brooklyn were named after him, as was the high school baseball stadium in his birthplace of Princeton, Indiana.
In 18-year career, Hodges batted .273 with 370 home runs and 1274 RBI. He died in West Palm Beach, Florida, two days short of his 48th birthday.
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