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DiMaggio, Joe, 1914-1999

Biographical/Historical Info
DiMaggio, Joe, 1914-1999

Inducted to the Hall of Fame in: 1955

Primary team: New York Yankees

Primary position: Center Fielder

Joe DiMaggio was a cultural icon.

He married Hollywood starlets Marilyn Monroe and Dorothy Arnold and he was immortalized in Paul Simon’s hit song Mrs. Robinson; to a generation he was the face of Mister Coffee, and he was regarded as one of the greatest players who ever played the game.

He was an American hero.

Hall of Fame teammate Phil Rizzuto recalled: "There was an aura about him. He walked like no one else walked. He did things so easily. He was immaculate in everything he did. Kings of State wanted to meet him and be with him. He carried himself so well. He could fit in any place in the world.”

On the ball field Joe DiMaggio could do it all. He could hit for average and power and patrolled center field in Yankee Stadium so gracefully that he earned the nickname “The Yankee Clipper”, a reference to the great sailing ship.

Hall of Famer owner and manager Connie Mack called him “the best player that ever lived”, and longtime teammate Yogi Berra said: “I wish everybody had the drive he had. He never did anything wrong on the field. I'd never seen him dive for a ball, everything was a chest-high catch, and he never walked off the field.”

The son of a San Francisco fisherman, Joe was the eighth of nine children – and his brothers Vince and Dom were also Major League All-Stars. Of his on field accomplishments, perhaps none are more notable than his 56-game hitting streak in 1941. However, that streak was not the longest of his professional career. In 1933, as a member of the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League, DiMaggio put together a 61-game hitting streak.

By the 1970s, broadcasters and writers began simply to call him “Joe D.” – and because he was so ingrained in American culture, everyone knew who they were talking about. His rival Ted Williams said: “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”.

His successor in center field at Yankee Stadium Mickey Mantle described how he viewed the Yankee Clipper: “Heroes are people who are all good with no bad in them. That's the way I always saw Joe DiMaggio. He was beyond question one of the greatest players of the century.”

DiMaggio was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1955. He passed away on March 8, 1999.

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Babe Ruth Plaza Dedication photograph, 1949 August 17
Object number: B-1950-0172-020
Ruth, Babe, 1895-1948
1949 August 17
Babe Ruth's Casket Leaving St. Patrick's Cathedral photograph, 1948 August 19
Object number: BL-1968-01451-0718
New York World-Telegram
1948 August 19
Brooklyn Dodgers versus New York Yankees negative, probably 1940
Object number: BL-1954-00230-020
Look magazine
probably 1940
Connie Mack, Joe DiMaggio and Tommy Henrich photograph, 1949 August 19
Object number: BL-1968-01451-1073
New York World-Telegram
1949 August 19
Jackie Robinson Account of the World Series article, 1947 October 11
Object number: BL-1997-00571-066
Robinson, Jackie, 1919-1972
1947 October 11
Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle negative, 1951
Object number: BL-2012-00142-868
Salas, Osvaldo, 1914-1992
1951
Joe Dimaggio Being Interviewed by the Navy photograph, 1943 February 02
Object number: BL-1968-04131-0018
New York Herald Tribune (Firm)
1943 February 02
Joe DiMaggio bobblehead
Object number: B-2018-0030-108
Alexander Global Promotions
2010 August 28
Joe DiMaggio photograph, between 1936 and 1942
Object number: BL-1946-00265-003
Conlon, Charles Martin, 1868-1945
between 1936 and 1942
Joe Dimaggio Presents Babe Ruth with Award photograph, 1948 June 19
Object number: B-1958-0153-01
Ruth, Babe, 1895-1948
1948 June 19
Joe DiMaggio Teaching Batting in Japan photograph, 1950 November 11
Object number: BL-1968-01451-1017
New York World-Telegram
1950 November 11
Joe DiMaggio Waving photograph, 1952
Object number: BL-1968-04131-0017
New York Herald Tribune (Firm)
1952