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Joe DiMaggio

 

- Joe DiMaggio

Joe DiMaggio
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  • Nicknames: "Joltin Joe," "The Yankee Clipper"
  • Many rate his 56-consecutive-game hitting streak in 1941 as the top baseball feat of all time
  • In 1933, eight years before his famed 56-game hitting streak, Joe DiMaggio fashioned a 61-game hitting streak with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League
  • At baseball's 1969 Centennial Celebration, he was named the game's greatest living player
  • Played in 13 All-Star Games (1936-1942, 1946-1951)
  • Three-time MVP: 1939, 1941, 1947
  • Was married to Marilyn Monroe for less than a year; he never remarried
  • Was the face of Mr. Coffee electric coffeemakers
  • Monument was dedicated to him at Yankee Stadium after his death (1999)
  • West Side Highway was renamed Joe DiMaggio Highway (1999)
  • The Yankees wore a black #5 (DiMaggio's uniform number) on the left sleeves of their uniforms for the 1999 season

"A ball player has to be kept hungry to become a big leaguer. That's why no boy from a rich family has ever made the big leagues." – Joe DiMaggio

"I'd like to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee." – Joe DiMaggio

"There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first or last time, I owe him my best." – Joe DiMaggio

"You start chasing a ball and your brain immediately commands your body to 'Run forward, bend, scoop up the ball, peg it to the infield.' Then your body says, 'Who, me?' " – Joe DiMaggio

"Joe DiMaggio was the greatest all-around player I ever saw. His career cannot be summed up in numbers and awards. It might sound corny, but he had a profound and lasting impact on the country." – Ted Williams

Who2 Biography: Joe DiMaggio, Baseball Player
 
Joe DiMaggio
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  • Born: 25 November 1914
  • Birthplace: Martinez, California
  • Died: 8 March 1999 (cancer)
  • Best Known As: "Joltin' Joe," legendary Yankee center fielder

Joe DiMaggio was one of the most gifted batters in pro baseball history. (Ted Williams once called him "the greatest all-around player I ever saw.") A center fielder for the New York Yankees, DiMaggio was best known for getting a hit in a 56 straight games in 1941, a streak that still stands as a major league record. DiMaggio's graceful demeanor and extraordinary talent made him one of the great popular heroes of his day and earned him the nicknames "Joltin' Joe" and "The Yankee Clipper." He played all of his 13 big-league seasons for the Yankees (1936-42, 1946-51) before retiring in 1951. He was briefly married to actress Marilyn Monroe in 1954, and his continued devotion after their divorce was legendary: for years after her death in 1962 he sent flowers weekly to her grave. In the 1970's and '80s he was a familiar television pitchman for Mr. Coffee automatic coffeemakers. DiMaggio was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955.

DiMaggio wore uniform #5 and hit and threw right-handed... His baseball career was interrupted for three years while he served in the Army Air Corps during World War II... DiMaggio was the subject of the 2000 biography A Hero's Life by Richard Ben Cramer... The phrase "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?" comes from the Simon and Garfunkel song "Mrs. Robinson"... DiMaggio was played by actor Scott Bakula in the short-lived Broadway play Marilyn in 1983... DiMaggio's gravestone reads "Grace, dignity and elegance personified"... Other famous New York Yankees include Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Mickey Mantle and Jim Bouton.

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Actor: Joe DiMaggio
 
  • Born: Nov 25, 1914 in Martinez, California
  • Died: Mar 08, 1999 in Hollywood, Florida
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Active: '50s, '80s-'90s
  • Major Genres: Sports & Recreation

Biography

Baseball superstar Joe DiMaggio occasionally appeared in films, typically in cameo roles as himself. In 1937, while filming Manhattan Merry-Go-Round, he met aspiring actress Dorothy Arnold. They married in 1939, had one son, and divorced in 1944. His second wife, Marilyn Monroe, was already a film icon when they met. They married in 1954 and divorced later the same year. Their relationship was explored in Nicolas Roeg's 1985 film Insignificance with Gary Busey and Theresa Russell. ~ All Movie Guide
 
Biography: Joe DiMaggio
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Named the "Greatest Living Player" in a 1969 centennial poll of sportswriters, baseball star Joe DiMaggio (born 1914) took the great American pastime to new heights during his enormously successful career and epitomizes the sports heroes of the 1940s and 1950s.

One of the most popular and fabled players to compete in Yankee Stadium, Joe DiMaggio was winner of three Most Valuable Player awards. His 1941 hitting streak of 56 games was one of the most closely watched achievements in baseball history, and he was so beloved by his fans that Japanese attempting to insult American soldiers on World War II battlefields called out insults to DiMaggio. His career batting average was .325, and he hammered 361 home runs. In 1949 he became the American League's first $100,000 player.

Before the Yankees

Son of Italian immigrant parents, Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio Jr. grew up in the San Francisco area with his four brothers and four sisters. At seventeen DiMaggio elected to play minor league baseball with the San Francisco Seals, the team on which his brother was making his professional debut near the end of the 1932 season. With a salary of $250 a month, 6-foot-2-inch DiMaggio became a Bay Area celebrity in 1933, hitting safely in 61 consecutive games, an all-time record for professional baseball, while hitting .340 and driving in 169 runs. A year later DiMaggio hit .341 and was purchased by the New York Yankees for $25,000 and five minor league players. An impressive .398 batting average earned him a Yankee tryout in 1936, where he was billed as the next Babe Ruth. DiMaggio's debut was delayed because of an injury, yet when he appeared on the field for the first time, on 3 May 1936, 25,000 cheering, flag-waving Italian residents of New York showed up to welcome him to the team.

"Joltin Joe, the Yankee Clipper"

By 1936 "Joltin' Joe," as he was called, led the league with a career-high 46 home runs. Even with the depth of the left field fence in Yankee Stadium, DiMaggio hit 361 career home runs, placing him fifth on the major league all-time home run list when he retired in 1951. In 1937 he batted an impressive .346, driving in 167 runs. The next season DiMaggio hit .324, followed in 1939 with a .381 and his first batting championship and the league Most Valuable Player award. Late in the 1939 season DiMaggio was hitting at a .412 pace, but eye trouble, and possibly the pressure, kept him from staying above the .400 mark.

The Streak

During the 1940 season DiMaggio captured his second consecutive batting title with a .352, but for the first time since he had joined the Yankees his team failed to win the pennant - setting the stage for the 1941 season that would make baseball history. DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak during the 1941 season began on 15 May, when he singled home a run, and ended on 17 July. In between he hit .406, and fans all over the country anxiously checked each game day to see if the Yankee Clipper had kept the streak going. People jammed the ballpark; radio programs were interrupted for "DiMag" bulletins, the U.S. Congress designated a page boy to rush DiMaggio bulletins to the floor, and newspaper switchboards lit up every afternoon with the question of the day, "Did DiMaggio get his hit?" Immediately after Cleveland pitchers Al Smith and Jim Bagby held DiMaggio hitless on 17 July, with the help of two great plays at third base by Ken Keltner, he started another hitting streak that ran 17 games. At the same time, twenty-two-year-old Red Sox slugger Ted Williams was setting a modern-age batting average of .406. During that same year, young pitcher Bob Feller won 25 games for the Cleveland Indians, and veteran pitcher Lefty Grove won his 300th game. In 1941 DiMaggio won his second Most Valuable Player award and like the rest of the nation began to feel the pressure of a nation readying itself for war. During the 1942 season DiMaggio batted .305 and was drafted into the army along with thousands of other young men. During his three years in the army DiMaggio played baseball in the Pacific and across the United States. The 1946 season was a disappointment (he batted .290), but by 1947 he was back in form, hitting .315 to win his third Most Valuable Player award and lead his team to the pennant.

Hall of Famer

Aided by the media machine of New York City and his own powerful statistics, DiMaggio became a national hero after the war - even though he played for the often-hated Yankees. He was even immortalized in a song called "Joltin' Joe DiMaggio," recorded by the Les Brown Orchestra. In 1948 DiMaggio had returned to the height of this form, winning the home run title with 39, the RBI crown with 155, and the batting title with a .320 average. DiMaggio sat out the first two months of the 1949 season with a bone spur in his heel, but as always his return was memorable. Although playing in pain, during his first games for new manager Casey Stengel, DiMaggio belted four homers in three games that broke the back of the league-leading Red Sox and helped the Yankees bring home another pennant. In 1951, with another soon-to-be Yankee superstar, young Mickey Mantle, on the scene, DiMaggio's average slipped to .263 with only 12 homers. Announcing his retirement at age thirty-seven in 1952, he turned down a fourth consecutive $100,000 contract because "when baseball is no longer fun, it's no longer a game." The Yankees, whose history is replete with heroes, retired his uniform, the world-famous pinstripe number five. In later years DiMaggio hosted pregame television shows, made television commercials, and was briefly married to the voluptuous Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955, and in 1969 he was named the "Greatest Living Player" in a centennial poll of sportswriters.

Further Reading

Maury Allen, Where Have You Gone, Joe DiMaggio? The Story of America's Last Hero (New York: Dutton, 1975);

Jack B. Moore, Joe DiMaggio: A Bio-Bibliography (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1986);

Michael Seidel, Streak: DiMaggio and the Summer of '41 (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1988).

Durso, Joseph, DiMaggio: the last American knight (Boston: Little, Brown, 1995).

 

Joe DiMaggio.
(click to enlarge)
Joe DiMaggio. (credit: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.)
(born Nov. 25, 1914, Martinez, Calif., U.S. — died March 8, 1999, Hollywood, Fla.) U.S. baseball star. DiMaggio joined the New York Yankees in 1936 and stayed with them until his retirement in 1951. Regarded as one of the greatest of all centre fielders, he played outfield with such languid grace that some inattentive fans thought he was lazy. Known as "Joltin' Joe" or "the Yankee Clipper," he achieved a career batting average of .325. In 1941 he accomplished one of the most remarkable of all major league records with his feat of hitting safely in 56 consecutive games. DiMaggio helped the Yankees win 10 American League championships and 9 World Series titles. His brothers Vincent and Dominic also played in the major leagues. DiMaggio's second wife (for nine months in 1954) was Marilyn Monroe. After his retirement from baseball he served as an executive for two major-league teams and appeared in television commercials.

For more information on Joe DiMaggio, visit Britannica.com.

 
Columbia Encyclopedia: Joe DiMaggio
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DiMaggio, Joe (Joseph Paul DiMaggio) (dĭmăj'ēō', –mäj'ēō'), 1914–99, American baseball player, b. Martinez, Calif. One of the most charismatic of 20th-century sports figures, “Joltin' Joe” joined the New York Yankees of the American League in 1936 and quickly rose to stardom, winning the league's batting title with a .381 average in his fourth season. In a career interrupted by World War II, the center fielder became the celebrated epitome of grace and humility. In 1939, 1941, and 1947 he was the American League's Most Valuable Player, and in 1941 the “Yankee Clipper” established one of baseball's best-known records by hitting safely in 56 consecutive games. He retired in 1951 and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955. His quiet heroics and brief marriage (1954) to Marilyn Monroe made him an icon of popular culture, although later biographical study has tended to deflate that status to some degree.

Bibliography

See biography by R. B. Cramer (2000).

 
Word Tutor: DiMaggio
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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: n. - United States professional baseball player noted for his batting ability (1914-1999).

 
Quotes By: Joe Dimaggio
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Quotes:

"A ball player has got to be kept hungry be become a big leaguer. That is why no boy from a rich family ever made the big leagues."

"If you keep thinking about what you want to do or what you hope will happen, you don't do it, and it won't happen."

 
Wikipedia: Joe DiMaggio
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Joe DiMaggio

Center fielder
Born: November 25, 1914(1914-11-25)
Martinez, California
Died: March 8, 1999 (aged 84)
Hollywood, Florida
Batted: Right Threw: Right 
MLB debut
May 31936 for the New York Yankees
Last MLB appearance
September 301951 for the New York Yankees
Career statistics
Batting average     .325
Home runs     361
Runs batted in     1,537
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction     1955
Vote     88.84% (third ballot: first eligible in 1953)

Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, Jr., was an American baseball player for the New York Yankees. He was the middle of three brothers who each became major league center fielders, the others being Vince and Dom.

A member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, DiMaggio was a 3-time MVP winner and 13-time All-Star (the only player to be selected for the All-Star Game in every season he played). At the time of his retirement, he had the fifth-most career home runs (361) and sixth-highest slugging percentage (.579) in history. He is perhaps best known for his 56-game hitting streak (May 15–July 16, 1941), a record that still stands.[1] A 1969 poll conducted to coincide with the centennial of professional baseball voted him the sport's greatest living player.[citation needed]

Contents

Early life

Joe DiMaggio was born in Martinez, California, the eighth of nine children born to immigrants of Italy, Giuseppe (1872–1949) and Rosalia (Mercurio) DiMaggio (1878–1951). He was delivered by a midwife identified on his birth certificate as Mrs. J. Pico. He was named after his father; "Paolo" was in honor of Giuseppe's favorite saint, Saint Paul. The family moved to San Francisco, California when Joe was one year old.

Giuseppe was a fisherman, as were generations of DiMaggios before him. DiMaggio's brother, Tom, told biographer Maury Allen that Rosalia's father, also a fisherman, wrote to her that Giuseppe could earn a better living in California than in their native Isola delle Femmine. After being processed on Ellis Island, he worked his way across the country, eventually settling near Rosalia's father in Pittsburg, California. After four years, he was able to earn enough money to send for her and their daughter, who was born after he had left for the United States.

It was Giuseppe's hope that his five sons would become fishermen.[2] DiMaggio recalled that he would do anything to get out of cleaning his father's boat, as the smell of dead fish nauseated him. Giuseppe called him "lazy" and "good for nothing;" Giuseppe's opposition was due to not understanding how baseball could help DiMaggio "get away from the poverty" and make something of himself.

DiMaggio was playing semi-pro ball when Vince DiMaggio, playing for the San Francisco Seals, talked his manager into letting DiMaggio fill in at shortstop; he made his professional debut on October 1, 1932. From May 27 – July 25, 1933, he got at least one hit in a PCL-record 61 consecutive games[3]: "Baseball didn't really get into my blood until I knocked off that hitting streak. Getting a daily hit became more important to me than eating, drinking or sleeping."

In 1934, his career almost ended. Going to his sister's house for dinner, he tore the ligaments in his left knee while stepping out of a jitney. The Seals, hoping to sell DiMaggio's contract for $100,000 now couldn't give him away; the Chicago Cubs turned down a no-risk tryout. Scout Bill Essick pestered the New York Yankees to give the 19 year-old another look. After DiMaggio passed a test on his knee, he was bought on November 21 for $25,000 and 5 players, with the Seals keeping him for the 1935 season. He batted .398 with 154 RBIs and 34 HRs, led the Seals to the 1935 PCL title, and was named the League's Most Valuable Player.

"The Yankee Clipper"

Joe DiMaggio's number 5 was retired by the New York Yankees in 1952

Touted by sportswriters as Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, and Shoeless Joe Jackson rolled into one, DiMaggio made his major league debut on May 3, 1936, batting ahead of Lou Gehrig. The Yankees had not been to the World Series since 1932, but, thanks in large part to their sensational rookie, they won the next four Fall Classics. In total, DiMaggio led the Yankees to nine titles in 13 years.

DiMaggio was an outstanding "five tool" player. Hank Greenberg told SPORT magazine in its September 1949 issue that DiMaggio covered so much ground in center field that the only way to get a hit against the Yankees was "to hit 'em where Joe wasn't."

Through May 2009 DiMaggio was tied for third all-time with Mark McGwire in home runs over his first two calendar years in the major leagues (77), behind Phillies Hall of Famer Chuck Klein (83) and Ryan Braun (79).[4]

On February 7, 1949, DiMaggio signed a record contract worth $100,000 ($70,000 plus bonuses), and became the first baseball player to break $100,000 in earnings. He was still regarded as the game's best, and hardest working player, but injuries plagued him so much that he could no longer take a step without pain. A sub-par 1951 season and a brutal scouting report by the Brooklyn Dodgers that was turned over to the New York Giants and leaked to the press combined with his injuries, led to him announcing his retirement on December 11, 1951. When remarking on his retirement to the Sporting News on December 19, 1951, he said "I feel like I have reached the stage where I can no longer produce for my club, my manager, and my teammates. I had a poor year, but even if I had hit .350, this would have been my last year. I was full of aches and pains and it had become a chore for me to play. When baseball is no longer fun, it's no longer a game."

DiMaggio's plaque at the Baseball Hall of Fame.

He became eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953. DiMaggio told Baseball Digest in 1963 that the Brooklyn Dodgers had offered him their managerial job in 1953, but he turned it down. He was not elected to the Hall until 1955; the rules were revised in the interim, with DiMaggio and Ted Lyons excepted, extending the waiting period from one year to five.

He might have had better power-hitting statistics had his home park not been Yankee Stadium. As "The House That Ruth Built", its nearby right field favored the Babe's left-handed power. For right-handed hitters, its deep left and center fields could be a nightmare: Mickey Mantle recalled that he and Whitey Ford would count the blasts DiMaggio hit that would have been home runs anywhere else, but, at the Stadium, were merely long outs (Ruth himself fell victim to that problem, as he also hit many long fly outs to center). Bill James calculated that DiMaggio lost more home runs due to his home park than any player in history. Left-center field went as far back as 457ft, compared to ballparks today where left-center rarely reaches 380ft. An illustration is the oft-replayed clip of Al Gionfriddo's catch in the 1947 World Series, which was close to the 415 foot mark in left-center. Had it happened in Ebbets Field, it would have been well into the seats for a home run. To illustrate, DiMaggio hit 148 home runs in 3,360 at-bats at home, and in contrast, he hit 213 home runs in 3,461 at-bats on the road. His slugging percentage at home was .546, and on the road, it was .610. His on-base percentage at Yankee Stadium was .391; away, it was .405. He drove in 720 RBI at home, and 817 on the road. Expert statistician, Bill Jenkinson, elaborated on the importance of these statistics:

From: The Year Babe Ruth Hit 104 Home Runs, by Bill Jenkinson:

For example, Joe DiMaggio was acutely handicapped by playing at Yankee Stadium. Every time he batted in his home field during his entire career, he did so knowing that it was physically impossible for him to hit a home run to the half of the field directly in front of him. That's right! If you look at a baseball field from foul line to foul line, it has a 90-degree radius. From the power alley in left center field (430 in Joe's time) to the fence in deep right center field (407 ft), it is 45-degrees. And Joe DiMaggio never hit a single home run over the fences at Yankee Stadium in that 45-degree graveyard. It was just too far. Joe was plenty strong; he routinely hit balls in the 425-foot range. But that just wasn't good enough in cavernous Yankee Stadium. Like Ruth, he benefited from a few easy homers each season due to the short foul line distances. But he lost many more than he gained by constantly hitting long fly outs toward center field. Whereas most sluggers perform better on their home fields, DiMaggio hit only 41 percent of his career home runs in the Bronx. He hit 148 homers at Yankee Stadium. If he had hit the same exact pattern of batted balls with a typical modern stadium as his home, he would have belted about 225 homers during his home field career.

In 1949, Boston Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey and Yankees GM Larry MacPhail verbally agreed to trade DiMaggio for Ted Williams, but MacPhail refused to include Yogi Berra [5]. Had the deal gone through, Williams could have benefited from Yankee Stadium's short right-center fence while DiMaggio could have thrived at Fenway Park with its Green Monster.

Wartime

DiMaggio enlisted in the United States Army Air Forces on February 17, 1943, rising to the rank of sergeant. He was stationed at Santa Ana, California; Hawaii; and Atlantic City, New Jersey as a physical education instructor. He was discharged in September 1945.

Giuseppe and Rosalia DiMaggio were among the thousands of German, Japanese and Italian immigrants classified as "enemy aliens" by the government after Pearl Harbor was attacked. They had to carry photo ID booklets at all times, were not allowed to travel outside a five mile radius from their home without a permit. Giuseppe was barred from the San Francisco Bay, where he had fished for decades, and his boat was seized. Rosalia became an American citizen in 1944; Giuseppe in 1945.

Married life

Dorothy Arnold

In January 1937, DiMaggio met actress Dorothy Arnold on the set of Manhattan Merry Go-Round. They married at San Francisco's St. Peter and Paul Church on November 19, 1939 as 20,000 well-wishers jammed the streets. They had a son on October 23, 1941 named Joe Dimaggio. Jr.[6]

Even before their son was born, the marriage was in trouble. DiMaggio was like many ballplayers: a high-school dropout whose life revolved around the game. While not the man about town that Babe Ruth was, he had his fun, leaving Dorothy feeling neglected. However, she was an ambitious social climber who took advantage of her status as the wife of baseball's biggest star. DiMaggio biographer Michael Seidel reported that, except on the nights before Lefty Gomez was to pitch, Dorothy and Lefty's wife, former Broadway star June O'Dea, would drag their husbands from one Manhattan nightspot to another. He resented how she complained about his off-the-field activities while she spent his money. But when Dorothy threatened to leave him in 1942, the usually unflappable DiMaggio went into a slump, and developed ulcers. She went to Reno, Nevada in February 1943; he followed her there, and they reconciled. But shortly after he enlisted in the Army and was sent to Hawaii, she filed for divorce, which was granted on May 12, 1944. She received $500 a month in alimony, custody of Joe Jr. and $150 in child support. Despite the divorce, they spent Christmas together in 1945.

The relationship continued off and on. Dorothy reportedly promised Joe she would wait for him to return from 1946 training camp, but married another man while he was gone.

Marilyn Monroe

According to her autobiography, Marilyn Monroe did not want to meet DiMaggio, fearing he was a stereotypical jock. Both were at different points in their lives: the just-retired Joe wanted to settle down; Marilyn's career was taking off. Their elopement at San Francisco City Hall on January 14, 1954 was the culmination of a courtship that had captivated the nation.

The relationship was complex, marred by his jealousy and her ambition. DiMaggio biographer Richard Ben Cramer asserts that it was also violent. One incident allegedly happened after the skirt-blowing scene in The Seven Year Itch was filmed on September 14, 1954 in front of New York's Trans-Lux Theater. Then-20th Century Fox's East Coast correspondent Bill Kobrin told the Palm Springs Desert Sun that it was Billy Wilder's idea to turn the shoot into a circus. The couple then had a "yelling battle" in the theater lobby. [7] She filed for divorce on grounds of mental cruelty 274 days after the wedding.

An August 1, 1956 International News wire photo of DiMaggio with Lee Meriwether speculated that the couple was engaged, but Cramer wrote that it was a rumor started by Walter Winchell. Marilyn biographer Donald Spoto wrote that Joe was "very close to marrying" 1957 Miss America Marian McKnight, who won the crown with a Marilyn act, but McKnight denied it. [8]. He was also linked to Liz Renay, Cleo Moore, Rita Gam, Marlene Dietrich, and Gloria DeHaven during this period, and to Elizabeth Ray and Morgan Fairchild years later, but he never publicly confirmed any involvement with any woman.

DiMaggio re-entered Marilyn's life as her marriage to Arthur Miller was ending. On February 10, 1961, he secured her release from Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic. She joined him in Florida where he was a batting coach for the Yankees. Their "just friends" claim did not stop remarriage rumors from flying. Reporters staked out her apartment building. Bob Hope "dedicated" Best Song nominee "The Second Time Around" to them at the 33rd Academy Awards.

According to Maury Allen, Joe was so alarmed at how Marilyn had fallen in with people he felt detrimental to her well-being, he quit his job with a military post-exchange supplier on 1 August 1962 to ask her to remarry him; she was found dead on August 5. Dimaggio's son Joe Jr. had spoken to Marilyn on the phone the night of her death and had claimed she seemed fine.[9] Her death was deemed a probable suicide but has been the subject of endless conspiracy theories. Devastated, he claimed her body and arranged her funeral, barring Hollywood's elite. He had a half-dozen red roses delivered 3 times a week to her crypt for 20 years.[10] Unlike her other two husbands or others who knew her (or claimed to), he refused to talk about her publicly or otherwise exploit their relationship. He never remarried.

Death

DiMaggio's grave

DiMaggio was admitted to Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, on October 12, 1998, for lung cancer surgery and remained hospitalized there for the next 99 days.[11] He returned to his Florida home on January 19, where he died on March 8, 1999.[10] On his deathbed and with his last breath, DiMaggio said "I'll finally get to see Marilyn".[12]

On March 11, 1999, DiMaggio's funeral was held at Ss. Peter and Paul Roman Catholic Church in San Francisco, and officiated by lifelong friend and DiMaggio confidant, Armand Oliveri, S.D.B.[13] In his eulogy, Dom DiMaggio declared that his brother had everything "except the right woman to share his life with", a remark seeming to confirm the family's disapproval of Monroe. Richard Ben Cramer told the New York Times that Dom cooperated with him on his controversial biography, and got other family members to do likewise. Joe DiMaggio's estranged son, Joe, Jr., died later that same year. Joe Jr. was 57 years old when he died.[14]

DiMaggio is interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California. (Section I, Row 11, Area 6/7)

The equally controversial Morris Engelberg, DiMaggio's laywer, offered dozens of signed bats on Shop At Home, for $3,000 each, weeks before DiMaggio died. In April 1999, he sued the City of San Francisco to stop its plan to name the North Beach park, where Joe learned to play baseball, after him. That June, he sold hundreds of items to a collectibles dealer, including baseballs DiMaggio signed on his deathbed, and offered Joe's personal effects at a Sotheby's auction.

In 2003, Engelberg broke attorney-client privilege, and published his own book on DiMaggio as a rebuttal to Cramer's. Conversely, Fr. Oliveri politely but firmly refuses interviews or requests to discuss any details of DiMaggio's life.

In popular culture

DiMaggio meets President Ronald Reagan at the White House, March 1981

DiMaggio was used by artists as a touchstone in popular culture both during his career and decades after he retired.

Music

In the South Pacific song, "Bloody Mary" has "skin tender as DiMaggio's glove". Joltin' Joe DiMaggio was recorded during his hitting streak by Les Brown.

A generation later, Simon and Garfunkel used him in that same vein in "Mrs. Robinson". The literal-minded DiMaggio was reportedly not fond of the lyric "Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you" as he was very much alive, and had not gone anywhere.[15] When he died The Times of London observed in its obituary that the lines from "Mrs Robinson" were what DiMaggio would be most remembered for. In their eulogical report on DiMaggio, ESPN SportsCenter quoted the last line of the song: "What's that you say, Mrs. Robinson? Joltin' Joe has left and gone away?" A tributory newspaper comic strip shows DiMaggio standing in front of the pearly gates in his Yankees uniform, holding his bat on his shoulder. St. Peter, in foreground, writes in his book: "Memo to Mr. Simon & Mr. Garfunkel: he's here."

DiMaggio is mentioned in John Fogerty's "Center Field." He and Monroe are mentioned in Jennifer Lopez's "I'm Gonna Be Alright," Madonna's "Vogue," Tori Amos's "Father Lucifer," Sleeper's "Romeo Me," Simon & Garfunkel "Mrs. Robinson," The Mike Plume Band's "DiMaggio" and Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire."

Les Brown & His Band of Renown had a big hit in 1941 after DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak called "Joltin' Joe DiMaggio". It peaked at #12 on the Billboard charts.

DiMaggio was also mentioned in a Tom Waits song "A Sight For Sore Eyes" from the album "Foreign Affairs"

Woody Guthrie wrote "DiMaggio Done It Again" about his performance in a crucial series against the Red Sox in June 1949 when surgery for bone spurs in his right heel kept him out of the Yankees' first 65 games and threatened his career. It is during this period Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea is set, Santiago drawing courage from his hero's ordeal (Guthrie's song was later covered by Wilco for the 2000 album Mermaid Avenue Vol. II).

Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe's relationship is cited in a number of songs. Diesel Boy Song, "She's My Queen." "She is my queen, she's my Marilyn, and I'm her Joe DiMaggio." Man From Delmonte's "Beautiful People": "I can be your Miss Monroe and you can be my Joe DiMaggio and we can do the things beautiful people like to do."

Television

DiMaggio is referenced in the Seinfeld episode "The Note", when Kramer claims to see him in a donut shop (and insists that he dips his donuts in coffee, to the disbelief of his friends). In The Simpsons episode "'Tis The Fifteenth Season", Montgomery Burns gives Homer Simpson a DiMaggio rookie card (Burns sneers: "Apparently, they're allowing ethnics into the big leagues"). And in the Looney Tunes short Boobs in the Woods, Daffy Duck gets a befuddled Porky Pig to "Steal home, DiMaggio! It means the game!"

DiMaggio's consecutive game hitting streak was also a point of reference in the Star Trek universe. In an episode of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Harmon "Buck" Bokai of the London Kings, a favorite player of Commander Sisko , breaks DiMaggio's streak.

Commercials

In 1971, Italian industrial design firm Poltronova released the "Joe" chair, shaped like a gigantic baseball glove. The original brown leather versions are considered collectors' items.

From 1972 to 1992, DiMaggio was spokesman for the Bowery Savings Bank.

In 1974, he became the company spokesman for Mr. Coffee; and soon after Harvey Korman spoofed DiMaggio's commercials in a Carol Burnett Show episode.

Film

He appeared in the original Angels in the Outfield and The First of May. The First of May was DiMaggio's last and most involved motion picture cameo, requiring that he memorize lines for an entire scene. According to director Paul Sirmons, DiMaggio refused payment because the movie's subject, foster children, was dear to him, but Screen Actors Guild rules mandated he take the minimum $250 per day fee. [16] DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak (which was in progress at the time of filming) was mentioned by Lou Costello in the 1942 film, Ride 'Em Cowboy.

In the 1975 film version of Farewell, My Lovely, Philip Marlowe (Robert Mitchum) follows the streak throughout the story.

Art

DiMaggio appears behind Marilyn Monroe in The Crowning with Sexism (1994) by the Australian artist Susan Dorothea White in her re-interpretation of Hieronymus Bosch's composition Christ Crowned with Thorns.

Literature

In Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea, the young boy told the old man that he was afraid of Cleveland. The old man told him: "Don't doubt the Yankees just yet. Have faith in the great DiMaggio." An extensive bibliography of literature about DiMaggio can be found in Joltin' Joe DiMaggio, edited by Richard Gilliam (Da Capo Press, 1999).

Comics

DiMaggio appears in issue 27 of the comic book series 100 Bullets written by Brian Azzarello.Later in the story we learn that he was involved in the John F.Kennedy assasination plot along with the assistance of Agent Graves.

Sports legacy

Stephen Jay Gould often wrote of DiMaggio's hitting streak, was an unpredictable anomaly based on statistical analysis, the only sports record that was an unpredictable anomaly, and therefore the greatest feat in all of sports. At his death in 1999, the New York Times called DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak in 1941, "perhaps the most enduring record in sports".[10]

His hitting streak has been used as a standard to compare similar feats in other sports. Johnny Unitas throwing at least 1 TD in 47 consecutive games is often cited as football's version. Martina Navratilova referred to her 74 straight match wins as "my DiMaggio streak." Wayne Gretzky's 51-game point-scoring run also was compared with the streak. DiMaggio was less than impressed, quoted as saying that Gretzky (who scored an empty-net goal in the final moments of a game to keep the streak alive) "never had to worry about a mid-game washout in the middle of the second period."

In an article in 1976 in Esquire magazine, sportswriter Harry Stein published an "All Time All-Star Argument Starter," consisting of five ethnic baseball teams. Joe DiMaggio was the center fielder on Stein's Italian team.

On September 17, 1992, the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, opened, for which he raised over $4,000,000.[10]

Yankee Stadium's fifth monument was dedicated to DiMaggio on 25 April 1999, and the West Side Highway was officially renamed in his honor. The Yankees wore DiMaggio's number 5 on the left sleeves of their uniforms for the 1999 season. He is ranked #11 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and was elected by fans to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

An auction of DiMaggio's personal items was held on May 19-20, 2006 by his son's adopted daughters. Highlights included: the ball hit to break Wee Willie Keeler's hitting-streak record ($63,250); 2,000th career hit ball ($29,900); 1947 Most Valuable Player Award ($281,750); uniform worn in the 1951 World Series ($195,500); Hall of Fame ring ($69,000); photograph Marilyn autographed "I love you Joe" ($80,500); her passport ($115,000); their marriage certificate ($23,000). The event netted a total of $4.1 million.

DiMaggio was named the greatest athlete to wear the #5 by Sports Illustrated. [1]. He was pictured with his son on the cover of the inaugural issue of SPORT magazine in September, 1946.

Stats

Season G AB R H HR RBI BB SO Avg. SLG
1936 138 637 132 206 29 125 24 39 .323 .576
1937 151 621 151 215 46 167 64 37 .346 .673
1938 145 599 129 194 32 140 59 21 .324 .581
1939 120 462 108 176 30 126 52 20 .381 .671
1940 132 508 93 179 31 133 61 30 .352 .626
1941 139 541 122 193 30 125 76 13 .357 .643
1942 154 610 123 186 21 114 68 36 .305 .498
1946 132 503 81 146 25 95 59 24 .290 .511
1947 141 534 97 168 20 97 64 32 .315 .522
1948 153 594 110 190 39 155 67 30 .320 .598
1949 76 272 58 94 14 67 55 18 .346 .596
1950 139 525 114 158 32 122 80 33 .301 .585
1951 116 415 72 109 12 71 61 36 .263 .422
Career Statistics 1736 6821 1390 2214 361 1537 790 369 .325 .579

Notes

  1. ^ Arbesman, Samuel; Strogatz, Steven (2008, March 30). "A Journey to Baseball’s Alternate Universe". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/30/opinion/30strogatz.html?_r=1&oref=slogin. 
  2. ^ Schwartz, Larry. Joltin' Joe was a hit for all reason, ESPN, accessed on March 12, 2009.
  3. ^ Great Baseball Feats, Facts and Figures, 2008 Edition, p.210, David Nemec and Scott Flatow, A Signet Book, Penguin Group, New York, NY, ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
  4. ^ Sandler, Jeremy, "NL Weekly: The Notebook," National Post, May 27, 2009, accessed 5/28/09
  5. ^ ESPN.com - Page2 - The List: Baseball's biggest rumors
  6. ^ http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/dimaggio/peopleevents/pande03.htmlGaffney, Dennis. "Joe Dimaggio Jr." The American Experience. 2000. PBS.
  7. ^ Goolsby, Denise (2006-06-26). "Meet Marilyn Monroe photographer Saturday". The Desert Sun. Archived from the original on 2007-12-13. http://web.archive.org/web/20071213031710/http://www.thedesertsun.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060626/UPDATE/60626018. Retrieved on 2008-08-25. 
  8. ^ South Carolina’s first Miss America, Marian McKnight The Hartsville Messenger 20 May 2005 (has been removed from site)
  9. ^ Huber, Robert. 1999. "Joe DiMaggio Would Appreciate It Very Much If You'd Leave Him the Hell Alone." Esquire 131, no. 6: 82. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost
  10. ^ a b c d Durso, Joseph (March 9, 1999). "Joe DiMaggio, Yankee Clipper, Dies at 84". http://www.nytimes.com/1999/03/09/sports/joe-dimaggio-yankee-clipper-dies-at-84.html?scp=2&sq. Retrieved on 2009-05-25. 
  11. ^ Berkow, Ira (November 25, 1998). "Sports of The Times; DiMaggio, Failing, Is 84 Today". http://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/25/sports/sports-of-the-times-dimaggio-failing-is-84-today.html?scp=2&sq. Retrieved on 2009-05-25. 
  12. ^ Matt Schudel (2009-05-08). "Baseball Great Dom DiMaggio Dies at 92". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/08/AR2009050803496_pf.html. Retrieved on 2009-06-02. 
  13. ^ http://espn.go.com/sportscentury/features/00014154.html
  14. ^ http://www.thedeadballera.com/Obits/Dimaggio.JoeJr.Obit.html"The Obit for Joe Dimaggio Jr." The Deadball Era. 8 July 1999. 11 Feb. 2009.
  15. ^ Paul Simon, "The Silent Superstar," The New York Times, March 9, 1999.
  16. ^ The First of May Official Site

External links


 
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