Dodgers: Gil Hodges, Remembering Hall of Fame Inductee

This weekend, Gil Hodges, 8 time All-Star with the Brooklyn Dodgers, was inducted into the baseball Hall of Fame. His number 14 is the 11th number to be retired in Dodger history.

The newly minted Hall of Famer was one of the best sluggers in the history of the franchise. He hit 361 career home runs while driving in 100 or more runs in seven straight seasons. Hodges was a key asset to the Dodgers teams that went to the World Series seven times during the late 1940s and ‘50s, winning it all in 1955 in Brooklyn and ‘59 in Los Angeles.

Welcome to baseball immortality, Gil Hodges!

? Milo Stewart Jr. pic.twitter.com/3lYJFO0BRK

— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ? (@baseballhall) July 24, 2022

During the 1950s, Hodges was by no means a bright standout like Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, or even his teammate Duke Snider, but was more of a quiet yet very impactful role player.

Since 1957 when the award began, the former first baseman was awarded the first three Gold Glove awards for his performance in the infield. He also posted impressive numbers in the batting box leading all Major League first basemen during that decade in home runs (310), RBIs (1,001), runs (890), hits (1,491) and games played (1,477). Over a 162-game season, Hodges averaged 29 home runs and 100 RBIs with a .273 batting average.

After his success as a player in the major leagues, Hodges went on to lead the “Miracle Mets” in 1969 as a manager. Before Hodges took over, the New York team was viewed as a joke since they lost 100 games or more five different times in their first six years of existence.

Hodges turned that around and led the Mets to their first World Series title over the heavily favored Orioles. He passed away suddenly in 1972 at the age of 47 after suffering a heart attack

Gil Hodges made the impossible seem possible. Follow Hodges' baseball journey through his display in our 2022 Hall of Fame Inductee exhibit. You won't want to miss it!

? Milo Stewart Jr. pic.twitter.com/cebxZYU4OJ

— National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum ? (@baseballhall) July 13, 2022

Irene Hodges, the recent Hall of Fame inductee’s daughter, had this to say about the moment she watched her father win the ’69 World Series.

“My dad had the most amazing smile from ear to ear…That day will stand out forever. He was still in uniform. He had his hat on. He was just standing there smiling saying, ‘Can you believe this?’ I could see it like it was yesterday.”

After more than 50 years after his death in 1972, Irene would finally stand up on stage in Cooperstown and accept the award on behalf of her father.

Her speech in New York this Sunday can be found here.

In the speech, she recalled a moment with her father that lives in her head so vividly.

“I remember asking my dad once, ‘Daddy, do you think you’ll ever make the Hall of Fame?’ ‘No,’ he said. ‘Never,’ I asked him, ‘Why do you say that?’ He said, ‘Those are all great players in there. I’m not even close.’ I wanted to tell him, ‘Hey, you were a great player, too.’ And now I can.”

What a special moment for Gil, his widow who is still alive to see this day, Irene, and the rest of the Hodges family to be able to accept this long overdue and much deserved recognition after five decades. The number 14 will forever now belong to Hodges and hang proudly at Dodger Stadium.

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