It broke the hearts of millions of Dodgers fans when the team up and left Brooklyn after the 1957 season. With their team gone, many Brooklyn fans felt abandoned by the game, left with a void and no local team to fill it. However, in 1962, the New York Mets were born. Although stocked with cast-offs and young kids and posting a miserable record, the team did successfully draw many Brooklyn fans back to the ballpark by hiring several old Dodgers.

     Gil Hodges, Clem Labine and Don Zimmer came back, but the biggest draw was the Duke of Flatbush - Duck Snider. The Duke’s homecoming in 1963 was the last hurrah for the future Hall of Famer. As the one bonafide star in the 1963 Mets lineup, Snider managed to hit 14 home runs and be named to the last of his eight All-Star teams. For the 1963 mid-summer classic, bat company Adirondack produced a pair of specially stamped bats for each player named to the All-Star team.

     This bat was shipped to Duke Snider to use in what would be his final All-Star appearance. Snider was sent in to pinch hit for Tommy Davis late in the game and struck out. He then finished the game in left field. The Duke’s Adirondack 307C model bat shows heavy use and is un-cracked. Many ball marks with stitch impressions are visible on its barrel along with several cleat imprints. Bat rack paint streaks are present along with scuff marks from contact with other bats. The handle has been wrapped in a spiral of athletic tape to enhance the grip. Model number “307C” is stamped into the knob end. Differentiating this bat from a regular Duke gamer is the special “1963 All STARS” stamping on the barrel along with “SNIDER” in block letters. This is a distinctive special model bat used by the Dodgers’ greatest centerfielder in the twilight of his Hall of Fame career. The bat comes with a full GU 10 LOA from PSA/DNA (1B12634) for the game use and a full LOA from Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication for the signature.

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