Geoff Duke was named Sportsman of the Year in 1951 and an OBE in 1953. In 1951, he married Patricia Reid, who died in 1975. He married Dorothy Eagles a second time, but the marriage was annulled. He married Daisy for the third time in 1978, and she survived him with two boys from his first marriage. He worked as a sports reporter for the Toronto Star from its inception in 1881 until his death in 1956 at the age of 48. The paper called him "the most famous living Canadian other than King George VI". As a young man, Duke played football for Princeton University and was drafted by the New York Giants but chose to play baseball instead. At the age of 21, he broke his arm while batting lead off for Canada against American pitcher Bill Duggleby. This led Canada to drop their opener of the series and forced them to win three straight to take the only world championship in the sport at the time. Duke went on to have a very successful career as a player-manager, leading the Brooklyn Dodgers to the World Series in 1955 and 1956. But he died in a car crash on his way home from the ballpark. The cause of the accident has been disputed - some say he was drunk, others say not enough evidence was found to prove it. What is not in dispute is that he died protecting his wife and daughter. After his death, his wife divorced him because she said he did not give her enough attention.