Gil Hodges Fans

About Gil

Gil is special to both Dodger and Met fans. I will change the default profile picture to accommodate fans of both teams. Gil's fan page is a Dodger/Met friendly page!

GIL'S BIO

from www.gilhodges.com

During the years after World War II, baseball fans in the New York area couldn’t help but revel in the talent and skill of Gil Hodges. An enduring figure in baseball history, Hodges’ playing career spanned 18 years and three teams.

Gilbert Raymond Hodges was born to Irene and Charlie Hodges on April 4, 1924 in Princeton, Indiana. At a young age, Gil was instilled with a passion for athletics by his father who wanted to see his son achieve more success in life than he had. As a result, Gil developed tremendous athletic potential, attracting the attention of professional sport teams.

In 1941, Hodges accepted a scholarship from St. Joseph’s College in Indiana and majored in physical education. While in school, he played baseball during the 1942 and 1943 seasons. It was around that time that Hodges was spotted by a part-time scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers, Stanley Feezle. He signed a contract but appeared with the team for only one game, in the third base position.

Life for Hodges soon took a drastically different turn once World War II broke out. Having served as a member of the Marines ROTC program at St. Joseph’s, he had to give up playing baseball and soon went into battle at Tinian and Okinawa for the U.S. Navy. He garnered many accolades for honorable service, including earning a bronze star and attaining the rank of sergeant before his discharge in 1946.

Back at home with the Dodgers once again, Hodges was ready to make history. He switched from third base to first, a position which gave him more confidence and a greater chance to prove himself to his teammates and the public. By 1949, he was heralded as one of the league’s finest first basemen.

Throughout the 1950s, Hodges’ career gained further momentum. He hit at least 30 home runs a season for five consecutive years, from 1950 to 1954. During these years, he hit 40 or more home runs a season twice. Also, he had more RBIs (1001) during the 1950s than any other player in the league. In addition, he was an eight-time All-Star from 1949-1955 and 1957.

After 14 years in Brooklyn, Hodges and the team moved to the West Coast to begin playing in Los Angeles. He would remain there for three seasons, until 1961. At that time, he started to contemplate retirement due to chronic knee pain. When the Mets showed interest in the expansion draft, he agreed to keep playing, since he would be back in his home state of New York.

The years of 1962 and 1963 were Hodges’ last years as a player. He hit his last home run in 1962, bringing his career total to 370 which, at the time, was the National League record for home runs by a right handed hitter. In 1963, owners of the Dodgers negotiated a deal with an expansion club, the Washington Senators, for him to become their new manager. Thus, Hodges’ career playing baseball came to a close, but his career as a coach was only the beginning.

For the next several years, Hodges’ developed the young Senators into a solid team. In his final year at Washington in 1967, his team increased their standing to 6th place in the American League with a record of 76-85. Later that year, the Mets came back looking for Hodges once again. He was glad to accept their offer of General Manager in 1968.

Hodges’ managed to assemble a successful team of players for the Miracle Mets and in 1969, led them all the way to the World Series Championship. His managerial career was prematurely cut short when, while golfing in Florida, he suffered a massive heart attack two days before his 48th birthday.

It goes without saying that beyond the numerical factoids attributed to athletes, Gil Hodges embodied the best of baseball through the human qualities he brought to the sport. Today, legions of fans continue to rally for the time when he will be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

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A PLAYER WHO NEVER HEARD BOOS DURING A WORLD SERIES SLUMP

Gil went 0-21 during the 1952 World Series. Brooklyn fans sent letters of encouragement and said prayers in the local church.

“ Not getting booed at Ebbets Field was an amazing thing. Those fans knew their baseball and Gil was the only player I can remember whom the fans never, I mean never booed.”
-- Clem Labine

“The thing that most people hear about that one is that a priest [Father Herbert Redmond of St. Francis Roman Catholic Church] stood in a Brooklyn pulpit that Sunday and said, "It's too hot for a sermon. Just go home and say a prayer for Gil Hodges." Well, I know that I'll never forget that, but also I won't forget the hundreds of people who sent me letters, telegrams, and postcards during that World Series. There wasn't a single nasty message. Everybody tried to say something nice. It had a tremendous effect on my morale, if not my batting average. Remember that in 1952, the Dodgers had never won a World Series. A couple of base hits by me in the right spot might have changed all that.”
-- Gil Hodges, on his 1952 season slump from his book, The Game of Baseball

What if the fans of Brooklyn decided to boo Gil during the series? What if they didn't send him the letters, telegrams and postcards to boost his morale? Would Gil have developed into the manager who led the 1969 Mets into the miracle run to win their first world series?

Gil also continued his baseball career after the 1952 slump. He had more RBIs(1001) in the 1950's than any other player.He hit 30 or more home runs for five consecutive seasons. He played in six World series in Brooklyn and one in Los Angeles

..Gil's Awards..
1969 National League Manager of the Year
1959 Golden Glove
1958 Golden Glove
1957 All Star and Golden Glove
1955 All-Star
1954 All-Star
1953 All-Star
1952 All-Star
1951 All-Star
1950 All-Star
1949 All-Star

As a NY Met Manager/Player:

* Gil's No. 14 was retired on June 9, 1973.
* Managed the 1969 Amazin' Miracle Mets to the World Championship in just his second season.
* Third-winningest manager in Mets history.
* Guided the Mets from 1968-1971 (339-309).
* Hit the club's first home run off Larry Jackson on April 11, 1962 at St. Louis.

..Tom Seaver on Gil as Manager..
"The most influential person in my professional career," Seaver said of Hodges, before he addressed the Shea crowd. He also characterized Hodges as the most important person to wear the Mets uniform. "He set the standard for players on the field and even the front office. He had a Marine Corps mentality. To be less than what you could be was unacceptable to him. He was the guy I wanted next to me in a foxhole.
"I learned to be a professional through Gil. ... He seemed aloof, and he could be that way to young players. But he was so intense, focused. He was doing his job but he caught your attention."
Seaver acknowledged the menacing look -- free of expression -- that often was evident on Hodges' face.

Gil was inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame in 1982, but is yet to be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame

Gil was inducted into the Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.

If you want to learn more about Gil go to the official web site at:

The Official Site of Gil Hodges