Joe DiMaggio, A Yankees Baseball Legend

DiMaggio was the most complete baseball player of his generation. But there's more to his legend than that. there's something special about DiMaggio's legend. Joe became a legend on and off the field, an lasting image of baseball greatness, beloved and admired by America fully, fifty years after his final game in 1952. A classy player.

Son of immigrants from southern Italy, Giuseppe (Joe) DiMaggio, the 8th of nine siblings, was born Nov. twenty five, 1914, in Martinez, California, a small village north of San Francisco where his dad worked as a fisherman. Joe senior expected his five boys to help with the fishing when they were of age to do so. Thanks to baseball DiMaggio was soon able to quit that work that he disliked.

Joe spent three seasons with the San Francisco Seals before bursting onto the major league scene in 1936 when he helped the Yankees begin another dynasty. The Yanks won four straight World Series Championships starting with his first year on the team at center field. In DiMaggio's 13 seasons they won 10 pennants and nine World Series!

When Joe appeared on the field for the first time, on May three, 1936, thousands of flag-waving Italian residents of New York showed up to cheer him on.

Joltin' Joe and The Yankee Clipper were the two monikers Joe went by throughout his career and well deserved they were. Joe led the league with a career-high of 46 home runs in 1936. Over the term of his career DiMaggio hit 361 home runs.
His bat thundered in 1937 with 167 RBI's and an average of .346 followed by a .328 in '38 and a whopping .380 for 1939.

In the summer of 1941, a nation had turned its eyes to him. DiMaggio began a fifty-six-game batting streak starting on May fifteen, 1941. He got a hit in every game Joe played until July 17 , 1941. Everyone it seemed was following the streak be it on radio or through the newspapers, wondering how far Joe could stretch it out.

The Less Brown Orchestra had a big hit that year with their recording "Joltin' DiMaggio " that sung the praises of The Yankee Clipper".

As if to prove it wasn't a fluke, Joe followed the great streak with a second one that lasted sixteen strait games.

He was batting .305 in 1942 when he received his army draft papers. DiMaggio spent three years in the army and returned to professional baseball in 1946.

1948 saw him back in full form winning three individual titles, homers with 39, batting average with .320 and RBI's with 155. Joltin' Joe was back!
When he retired in 1951, Joe had a lifetime average of .325, down from the .339 it had been before he served three years in the military during World War II.

After his love affair ended with baseball, he began one with Marilyn Monroe. Joe was 39, she twenty seven when they married on Jan. 14 , 1954. Though divorced less than a year later they remained good pals . Joe took charge of funeral plans after her tragic death and Joe arranged for flowers on her grave for decades after that.

DiMaggio symbolizes for many a gentler, sweeter time in America and this was immortalized in song. Paul Simon wrote in his big Simon and Garfunkel hit " Mrs. Robinson" ,"Where have you gone, DiMaggio ? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you."

After DiMaggio retired Joe hosted pre-game TV shows, game shows and made numerous television commercials that Americans loved to see. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of fame in 1955.

DiMaggio died at his home in Hollywood, Florida, on March 8 , 1999.
Modest to a fault, DiMaggio always gave his best to the game, game in , game out. His isn't just a sports story but also one of humanism. He was looked up to for his persona both on and off the field.

The New York Times once wrote of him, "It is not for DiMaggio's records that we remember him. Joe is best remembered for the persona of Joltin' Joe DiMaggio . Joe remains a living symbol of excellence, elegance, power and, to be sure , gentleness."


Joltin' Joe may well have been the finest of his era. To enjoy seeing today's finest at play Just Click Here for great MLB tickets at bargain prices.