Dodgers to retire Gil Hodges’ No. 14 in June

Was a favorite of Brooklyn fans, also steered Mets to championship

May 27, 2022 Associated Press
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Gil Hodges, who helped the Dodgers win World Series titles in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, will have his No. 14 jersey retired.

The pregame ceremony will take place on June 4, when the New York Mets visit Dodger Stadium. Hodges played his final two seasons with the Mets in 1962 and ’63. His 96-year-old widow, Joan, still lives in Brooklyn.

He joins Walter Alston, Roy Campanella, Don Drysdale, Jim Gilliam, Sandy Koufax, Tommy Lasorda, Jackie Robinson, Duke Snider, Don Sutton and Pee Wee Reese among Dodgers players and managers to have their numbers retired in left field.

Hodges will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 24. He was voted in by the veterans committee.

During his 16 years with the Dodgers in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, Hodges helped the team win World Series titles in 1955 and ’59. He was an eight-time All-Star. From 1949-55, he drove in over 100 runs per season.

Hodges died in 1972 at age 47, when he was managing the Mets. He guided the team to the 1969 World Series title.

Hodges and five other newcomers will be enshrined in Cooperstown, New York, on July 24, 2022, along with any new members elected by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. 

Gil Hodges of the Brooklyn Dodgers polishes his bat in Philadelphia, Pa., July 5, 1951. AP Photo/Bill Ingraham

Hodges became the latest Brooklyn Dodgers star from the pennant-winning “Boys of Summer” to reach the Hall, joining Robinson, Duke Snider, Roy Campanella and Pee Wee Reese.

An eight-time All-Star with 370 home runs and a three-time Gold Glover at first base, Hodges enhanced his legacy when he managed the 1969 “Miracle Mets” to the World Series championship, a startling five-game win over heavily favored Baltimore.

Hodges was still the Mets’ manager when he suffered a heart attack during spring training in 1972 and died at 47.

His daughter, Irene, said she was with her 95-year-old mother when the vote was announced.

“She just pounded her heart and said I‘m so happy for Gil. My dad was a great manager and a great player but above all else he was a great dad,” she said in a statement released by the Mets.

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