Death of Duke Snider: Baseball Great, Tax Scofflaw

From the New York Times obituary of Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodger Hall of Famer Duke Snider, who died yesterday at the age of 84:

Snider returned to Brooklyn on a sad note on July 20, 1995, when he appeared in federal court, a couple of miles from where Ebbets Field once stood, as a criminal defendant.

Snider and another Hall of Famer, the former Giant first baseman Willie McCovey, pleaded guilty to tax fraud for failing to report thousands of dollars earned by signing autographs and participating in sports memorabilia shows. “We have choices to make in our lives,” Snider said. “I made the wrong choice.”

The following Dec. 1, he was sentenced to two years’ probation and fined $5,000.

(Hat Tip: Joe Kristan, Jack Towensend.)