DiMaggio, Joseph P.
[Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio]
Baseball
b. Nov. 25, 1914, Martinez, CA
d. March 8, 1999
Casey Stengel summed up DiMaggio pretty well: "Joe did everything so naturally that half the time he gave the impression he wasn't trying. He had the greatest instincts of any ballplayer I ever saw. He made the rest of them look like plumbers."
DiMaggio left high school after one year to work in a fish cannery, then joined the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League in 1933. He hit safely in 61 consecutive games that season, an all-time record for professional baseball. The following year, he suffered a knee injury that made several major league teams lose interest in him.
However, the New York Yankees signed him late that year. After one more minor league season, DiMaggio joined the Yankees in 1936 as one of the most highly-touted rookies in history. An ankle injury kept him out of the lineup early on the season. When he finally made his debut on May 3, nearly 25,000 Italian-American fans showed up to wave Italian flags.
DiMaggio didn't disappoint anyone, leading the league with 15 triples and batting .323 with 29 home runs and 126 RBI. The Yankees won the first of four consecutive world championships that year. A rightfielder for the first month of his career, DiMaggio moved to centerfield before the season ended and was soon recognized as one of the finest defensive players ever at that position.
In 1937, DiMaggio led the league with 46 home runs, 151 runs scored, and a .673 slugging percentage. After hitting .324 in 1938, he was named the league's most valuable player in 1939, when he was the AL's top hitter with a .381 average. He was batting .412 early in September, but an eye infection sent him into a slump during the last three weeks of the season.
DiMaggio won his second MVP award and was also named Associated Press male athlete of the year in 1941, when he had his legendary 56-game hitting streak. The streak ended in Cleveland, largely because of two outstanding defensive plays by third baseman Ken Keltner. DiMaggio then hit safely in his next 17 games. His 125 RBI led the league that season.
After hitting .305 in 1942, DiMaggio spent three years in the Army. He returned to the Yankees in 1946, batting just .290, but he won another MVP award in 1947, when he hit .315 with 31 doubles, 10 triples, 20 home runs, 97 runs scored, and 97 RBI.
"The Yankee Clipper" had an even better season in 1948, leading the league in home runs with 39 and RBI with 155. He became major league baseball's first $100,000 player the following year. However, a bone spur in his right heel limited him to just 76 games.
Despite continued pain, he batted .301 and hit 32 home runs, with 122 RBI, in 1950. After hitting only .263 in 1951, DiMaggio announced his retirement. Television appearances and commercials, along with his brief marriage to Marilyn Monroe in 1954, kept him in the limelight for many years and his status as a legend was firmly established by the line, "Where did you go, Joe DiMaggio," in a Simon and Garfunkel song featured in the 1967 movie, The Graduate.
Two of DiMaggio's brothers, Dom and Vince, each played more than 1,000 major league games. Dom was an outstanding leadoff man and centerfielder, while Vince was noted for hitting with power but striking out too often.