The Life and Baseball Career of Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio
He became the first athlete in the history of American professional sports to win championships in each of his first four seasons.
Before Jo DiMaggio became a cultural icon, he was Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, born to Sicilian immigrants on November 25, 1914, in Martinez, CA. DiMaggio’s father had hoped his five sons would become fishermen like he was and he’d have them clean his boat, but little did he know one of them was a baseball virtuoso.
From the Seals to the Yankees
DiMaggio made his professional debut in 1932 for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League. He hit safely in 61 straight games from May 27 to July 25, 1933, a PCL-record. The New York Yankees purchased his contract for $50,000, and DiMaggio made his major league debut on May 3, 1936.
DiMaggio made an immediate impact, leading the Yankees to four straight World Series championships from 1936 to 1939. He became the first athlete in the history of American professional sports to win championships in each of his first four seasons. The Yankees won a total of nine titles in DiMaggio’s 13-year career.
Unique Batting Style
DiMaggio is most known for his record 56-game hitting streak in 1941, which to this day is considered an unbreakable record. The closest anyone has ever come to his record is Pete Rose’s 44-game hitting streak in 1978.
DiMaggio utilized a short swing to send line drives to all sides of the field. He was not known as a power hitter, but it was widely believed that his home run numbers would have been higher if not for the deep center and left fields at Yankee Stadium that made it difficult for right-handed hitters to send the ball out of the park. DiMaggio finished with 361 homers, 213 of which came on the road as opposed to 148 at Yankee Stadium. His slugging percentage was .546 at home and .610 on the road.
‘The Yankee Clipper’ in Center Field
DiMaggio earned the nickname “The Yankee Clipper” for the way he patrolled center field. His speed and range made it almost impossible for opposing hitters to get on base if a ball was hit in his direction.
Longtime teammate Yogi Berra said, “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.”
Retirement & Awards
DiMaggio would retire in 1951 at the age of 37 due to various injuries. He finished with 2,214 hits, 1,537 RBIs, a .325 batting average, three American League MVP awards, and was selected to the All-Star game in each of his 13 seasons. He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955.
Marilyn Monroe
DiMaggio was linked to several female celebrities in his life, but his most famous relationship was the one he shared with actress and model Marilyn Monroe. The two eloped in San Francisco on January 14, 1954, but Monroe filed for divorce 274 days after the wedding, and it was finalized in 1955.
After not speaking for six years, DiMaggio secured her release from a psychiatric clinic in 1961 after she had suffered from depression. It is believed that DiMaggio had planned to ask her to remarry him in 1962, but Monroe was found dead in her home in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles, CA, on August 5, in an apparent suicide.
DiMaggio claimed her body, arranged for her funeral, and had red roses delivered to her crypt three times a week for 20 years. Famously private, DiMaggio refused to talk about Monroe or their relationship publicly.
DiMaggio died at 84 on March 8, 1999, at his home in Hollywood, FL, due to complications from lung cancer. According to his lawyer and confidant, DiMaggio’s last words were, “I’ll finally get to see Marilyn.”
