These children in a Crown Heights hospital were treated to a Hall-of-Fame-caliber Yuletide gift from Santa Claus and the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1952.

The setting was St. Giles the Cripple Hospital, now the home of St. Mark’s Day School, at 1346 President Street.

The three Dodgers in the photo, which originally ran in the Brooklyn Eagle, each had significant baseball accolades. At center is pitcher Joe Black, the 1952 Rookie of the Year. At bottom left is eight-time All-Star Gil Hodges, who endeared himself to Brooklynites by winning both the 1955 World Series as a player with the Dodgers and taking the Mets to an improbable first World Series crown as the team’s manager in 1969.

Legendary Dodger and Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella can be found crouching in the bottom right of the photo, playing Santa Claus. He won three Most Valuable Player awards in Brooklyn (1951, 1953, 1955), and had his No. 39 retired by the franchise (a rare honor).

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