NY Times · Dec 24, 2021
A Christmas Visit That Changed Everything
Gil Hodges’s Santa suit wasn’t fooling David Schacker or the other patients at St. Giles hospital back in 1949. They knew a Brooklyn Dodgers star when they saw one.Credit...David SchackerFor 72 years, David Schacker has held on to a tattered black-and-white photograph, now buried deep in a closet at his home near downtown Toronto. A few days ago, shortly after Gil Hodges was elected to the Hall of Fame, he decided to take a fresh look. The image has lost some of its luster but the excitement still shines through: a bright-eyed kid, just one month shy of turning 11, beaming as he shakes hands with a local legend.