Gil Hodges

Marine Corps Service

Gilbert Raymond “Gil” Hodges earned the title of United States Marine at MCRD San Diego after entering the Corps in October 1943, only eleven days after his Major League debut. He trained as a Browning Automatic Rifleman at Camp Elliott before joining the 16th Antiaircraft Artillery Battalion. The battalion trained in Hawaii and later deployed to Tinian, where it reinforced the island’s air defenses and provided security against Japanese holdouts.

In April 1945, Sergeant Hodges landed on Okinawa with his battalion’s assault echelon. Assigned to the operations and intelligence section, he collected operational information, prepared combat records, and helped safeguard highly classified documents. He carried out that work through repeated enemy air alerts, bombing attacks, mortar and sniper fire, and kamikaze raids during one of the Pacific war’s longest and most destructive campaigns.

Hodges received the Bronze Star Medal for his service on Okinawa. His citation credited his professional skill, tireless devotion to duty, and contribution to the successful accomplishment of his battalion’s mission. He remained on Okinawa until October 1945 and was honorably discharged as a sergeant in February 1946 after 29 months in the Marine Corps.

Baseball Career

Born in Princeton, Indiana, on April 4, 1924, Hodges grew up in nearby Petersburg and became a four-sport athlete at Petersburg High School. He attended Saint Joseph’s College before signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. On October 3, 1943, the 19-year-old made his Major League debut at third base in Brooklyn’s final game of the season.

Hodges returned to professional baseball after World War II, first as a catcher and then as a first baseman. From 1949 through 1957, he averaged 32 home runs and 108 runs batted in per season while the Dodgers won five National League pennants. On August 31, 1950, he hit four home runs against the Boston Braves, becoming only the second modern-era National League player to accomplish the feat.

An eight-time All-Star and three-time Gold Glove winner, Hodges helped Brooklyn capture its first World Series championship in 1955 and won another title with Los Angeles in 1959. He concluded his playing career with the New York Mets, making his final appearance on May 5, 1963. Over 18 Major League seasons, he recorded 1,921 hits, 370 home runs, 1,274 runs batted in, and a .273 batting average.

Later Life and Legacy

Hodges moved directly from playing into managing, leading the Washington Senators from 1963 through 1967. He returned to New York as manager of the Mets in 1968. One year later, he guided a club that had never finished higher than ninth place to 100 regular-season victories, the National League pennant, and a five-game World Series triumph over the heavily favored Baltimore Orioles. The 1969 “Miracle Mets” made Hodges a World Series champion for the third time—twice as a player and once as a manager.

Hodges died of a heart attack in West Palm Beach, Florida, on April 2, 1972, two days before his 48th birthday. The Mets retired his number 14 in 1973, and the Dodgers followed in 2022. That same year, after decades of consideration, Hodges was inducted posthumously into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

Sources and Further Reading

1. Department of Veterans Affairs, “Marine Corps Veteran Gil Hodges”
2. Leatherneck, October 2022, detailed account of Hodges’s Marine Corps service
3. United States Marine Corps historical monograph, Condition Red: Marine Defense Battalions in World War II
4. WBUR, researched account of Hodges’s Okinawa service and Bronze Star citation
5. Society for American Baseball Research, Gil Hodges biography
6. National Baseball Hall of Fame, Gil Hodges
7. National Baseball Hall of Fame, Hodges elected with the Class of 2022
8. Baseball-Reference, Gil Hodges Major League record