Joe DiMaggio

Joseph Paul DiMaggio played 13 seasons for the New York Yankees, missed three more to military service, and left behind a statistical record that only hints at the effect he had on the game. He batted .325, hit 361 home runs, drove in 1,537 runs, and struck out just 369 times in 6,821 at-bats. He won three American League MVP awards and played on nine World Series championship teams. And then there was the streak.

Martinez

DiMaggio was born on November 25, 1914, in Martinez, California, and grew up in San Francisco, the eighth of nine children born to Sicilian immigrants Giuseppe and Rosalia DiMaggio. His father was a fisherman who expected his sons to follow him onto the boats. Joe hated fishing. He dropped out of high school and played semipro ball before joining the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League in 1932. His older brother Vince was already on the Seals roster.

In 1933, DiMaggio hit .340 with 28 home runs and 169 RBI and hit safely in 61 consecutive games, a PCL record. Multiple major league teams pursued him, but a knee injury in 1934 depressed the bidding, and the Yankees acquired his rights for $25,000 and five players.

The Streak

DiMaggio debuted in 1936 and hit .323 with 29 home runs and 125 RBI. He hit .346 in 1937 and .324 in 1938. By 1939, when he batted .381 and won his first MVP award, he was the best player in the American League.

On May 15, 1941, DiMaggio singled off Eddie Smith of the White Sox in a game the Yankees lost 13-1. Nobody noticed. He singled again the next day, and the next, and the next. By mid-June the press was tracking every at-bat. By July, the entire country was following along.

The streak reached 56 games on July 16, when DiMaggio went 3-for-4 against the Indians. On July 17, in Cleveland, third baseman Ken Keltner made two outstanding plays on hard-hit grounders down the line, and shortstop Lou Boudreau fielded a bad-hop grounder up the middle. DiMaggio went 0-for-3 with a walk. The streak was over.

During the 56 games, he batted .408 with 15 home runs and 55 RBI. He struck out only five times. The record has never been seriously threatened. Pete Rose reached 44 games in 1978, the closest anyone has come.

Nine Championships

DiMaggio played on teams that won the World Series in 1936, 1937, 1938, 1939, 1941, 1947, 1949, 1950, and 1951. He lost three seasons to military service during World War II, entering the Army Air Forces in February 1943 and returning for the 1946 season. He was 31 when he came back, and injuries began limiting his playing time.

He won MVP awards in 1939 (.381, 30 HR, 126 RBI), 1941 (.357, 30 HR, 125 RBI), and 1947 (.315, 20 HR, 97 RBI). His 1947 MVP edged Ted Williams, who won the Triple Crown that year but lost the vote by a single point.

The End

Bone spurs in his heels, chronic pain in his shoulders, and the accumulated toll of playing through injuries pushed DiMaggio toward retirement. He hit .263 in 1951, his worst full season, but still drove in 71 runs and played center field at Yankee Stadium. The Yankees won the World Series that October. DiMaggio retired in December 1951 at age 37.

He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1955 by the BBWAA, receiving 88.8 percent of the vote.

After Baseball

DiMaggio's marriage to Marilyn Monroe in January 1954 lasted nine months but defined his public image for the rest of his life. After Monroe's death in 1962, DiMaggio arranged her funeral and had roses delivered to her crypt three times a week for the next two decades.

He became increasingly private, fiercely protective of his name and image. He demanded to be introduced as "the greatest living ballplayer" at public events and refused to cooperate with most journalists and biographers. He died on March 8, 1999, in Hollywood, Florida, at age 84.