He played eleven seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1964 to 1974 for the Cleveland Indians, Los Angeles Dodgers, Detroit Tigers, New York Yankees, and Texas Rangers.

His first game as a Tiger resulted in a 3 for 5 day with a game-tying double and the game-winning single off of Gaylord Perry, who would win the Cy Young Award that year.

He was the catcher in Game 2 when Oakland Athletics shortstop Bert Campaneris threw the bat at Tigers pitcher Lerrin LaGrow after being hit on the ankle.

He joined the Yankees in the 1974 season in which they played their home games at Shea Stadium before being traded to the Texas Rangers on May 7 for Larry Gura and cash.

Duke holds the distinction of finishing his career with exactly 100 home runs, the current record for a player hailing from the state of Utah.