Joe Di Maggio, the Yankee Clipper Joe Di Maggio Dead at 84  1999 Joe Di Maggio, the Yankee Clipper I would like to take the great Di Maggio fishing, the old man said. They says his father was a fisherman. Maybe he was as poor as we are and would understand. Ernest Hemingway The Old Man and the Sea His name was Giuseppe Paolo Di Maggio and he came from the community of Isola Delle Femmine, an islet off the coast of Sicily, where the Di Maggios had been fishermen for generations. Known as Zio Pepe, he migrated to the town of Martinez, a small fishing community some 25 miles northeast of the Golden Gate. In 1915, hearing of the luckier waters of San Francisco, he packed his fishing boat with his furniture and his family and docked at Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco. He found a flat on Taylor street, near the Wharf, and there he lived and worked at the sea and began to raise his large family.

His children, in order, were Nellie, Mamie, Tom, Marie, Mike, Frances, Vince, Joe Jr., and Dominic. He wanted two of the boys to help him in the fish business, one to be a great opera singer, one to be a lawyer because he wore glasses, and one to be a bookkeeper, because you can sit down. Instead three of the sons went on from Fishermans Wharf to become the greatest baseball playing family in the history of the game, one of them being the immortal Joe Di Maggio, the Yankee Clipper. In 13 years of baseball from 1936 to 1949, this son of an immigrant fisherman earned an estimated total of $704,769 playing for the New York Yankees team. When the elder Di Maggio came to Fishermans Wharf from Martinez the younger Joe was only one year old. Fishermans Wharf in those days was placid and picturesque, but there was also a competitive undercurrent and struggle for power along the pier.

At dawn the boats would sail out for their catch, and then the men would race back with their hauls, hoping to beat their fellow fishermen to shore and sell it while they could. Some 20 or 30 boats would sometimes be trying to gain the channel shoreward at the same time and a fisherman had to know every rock in the water, and later, know every bargaining trick along the shore, because the dealers and some restaurateurs would play one fishermen off against the other, keeping the prices down. In time the fishermen became wiser and organized, pre- determining the maximum amount each fisherman could catch. But, there were always some men who, like the fish, never learned and sometimes heads were broken, nets slashed, gasoline poured onto their fish and flowers of warning placed outside their doors. Those days were ending when the elder Di Maggio arrived and he wanted his five sons, at first, to succeed him as fishermen. The first two did, Tom and Mike. The third, Vincent, liked to sing. He sang so well, and his fame spread in the Italian community, that the great banker A.P. Giannini heard him and offered a plan to send him to Italy for tutoring.

But, there was not enough money around the Di Maggio household and they hesitated, and Vince never went. With the other boys it was different. Joe tells about it in his autobiography, Lucky to be a Yankee. I was born in Martinez, but my earliest recollection was of the smell of fish at Fishermans Wharf, where I was brought up. Our main support was a fishing boat, with which my father went crabbing. If you didnt help in the fishing, you had to help in cleaning the boat. Baseball didnt have much appeal to me as a kid, but it was better than helping Pop when he was fishing, or helping clean the boat. I was always giving him excuses, principally that I had a weak stomach, but he insisted I was lagnuso (lazy) and to tell you the truth, I dont know which he thought was the greater disgrace to the family, that a Di Maggio should be lazy or that a Di Maggio should have a weak stomach. There was a lot of us Di Maggios, nine in all.

Pop worked on a two- year scale and everybodys clothes fit everybody else, which meant that only Nellie, the oldest girl, and Tom, the oldest boy, ever got a chance to wear new clothes. Hand- me- downs outfitted the rest of us. Pop didnt like baseball in those days. Too many shoes, too many pants, was his description of our national past- time. Even with plenty of hand- me- downs, the Di Maggios in those days couldnt reconcile themselves to the shoes I wore out or the pants I tore in my baseball cavorting. Bocci was pops game, an Italian version of lawn bowling. Baseball to me in those days was merely an excuse to get away from the house and away from the chores of fishing. When Pop gave up trying to make me work on the boat, I gave up playing baseball in the sand patch by the Wharf, and tried my hand at selling newspapers, a job my father declared suited me perfectly since it consisted mostly of standing still and shouting.

Vince, who had been far more successful than I in baseball, had quit high school to help support the family, although my mothers advice was to continue his education. Two years later, I followed Vince. Up to the time my baseball playing had been sketchy. In fact, I almost stopped playing when I was 14. Our home was by Fishermans Wharf, close to the old North Beach playground, where I had my first baseball experience at the age of ten. I was third baseman in those days and played well enough to be on the usual teams with the kids around my block. Pop, having despaired of my ever becoming a fisherman, urged me to study bookkeeping. Its a job you can do sitting down, said Pop significantly, for he was convinced I was lazy. Vince, meanwhile, was making good in a big way, or so it seemed to me. He had been signed by the San Francisco Seals and farmed out to Tucson.

I was a pretty cocky kid in those days and I said to myself, If Vince can get dough for playing ball, I can, too. As a matter of fact, Vince often pleaded with me to take the game more seriously, and it was his idea that I could play well enough to make money at it. Some of the kids around the block decided to get up a team and go in the Boys Club League, and we won the championship in our division. There was an olive oil dealer in our neighborhood, named Rossi, who took our club out of the Boys Club League and outfitted us with better uniforms and equipment than we ever had before. He was a real fan and took great pride in having a ball club of his own. We won the championship in a play- off, in which I hit two home runs. As a reward for this, I received two gold baseballs and two orders for merchandise worth about $8 each. It was my first financial return from baseball. With his brother playing for the San Francisco Seals, Joe began hanging around the ball park and to his delight was invited to the Seals training camp for the 1933 season.

Joe made the team and sports writers described him as a tall gangling youngster, all arms and legs and like a frisky colt. His batting prowness soon asserted itself and, in his first year, Joe was attacking the [Pacific Coast] league record for hitting in successive games. There were 10,000 people in Seals Stadium on July 4, 1933, including Joes family, to watch him try for a hit in his 49th straight game, which would break a long standing record. In the first inning Joe singled to center field and the record was broken. Then the game was stopped, Joe recalled. Angelo Rossi, Mayor of San Francisco, came on to the field to congratulate me personally, which was quite a thrill to a kid who couldnt be able to vote for him for three more years. My whole family was on hand and my mother hugged me for joy. She didnt understand much about baseball but she realized I was being honored and that was enough for her. The publicity attendant on my batting streak converted Pop to baseball.

At first, he thought it was silly for people to dress up in short pants with spikes and gloves. Then he couldnt see me, a kid, making good against all those older men. He forgot about this and even forgot about bocci. Bocci ball? Pop would say, No money in bocci ball. Baseball, thats the game.  Joes hitting streak finally ended at 61 games. He was then presented with a watch by Mayor Rossi and a traveling bag from his friends at Fishermans Wharf. Joe secretly was more pleased with the traveling bag. The traveling bag came in handy because Joe was then signed for the 1936 season to play with the New York team, the start of a brilliant career that took him for the first time away from Fishermans Wharf he knew so well. Baseball opened many doors for Joe. At 6 feet, 2 inches, with brown eyes and black hair, he struck an impressive role both on and off the field. Joe immediately broke into cafe society and was named one of the nations ten best dressed men.

But, Joe never forgot San Francisco, nor they him. After his first season with the Yankees, Joe returned home to a heros welcome. They had a brass band to meet me at the station, recalled Joe. My parents were crying like children and everyone was shouting DiMag is back. All the fellows Id grown up with at Fishermans Wharf were there and they hoisted me on their shoulders and took me to an automobile which carried me to City Hall. There Mayor Rossi made a speech of welcome, telling me how much Id done for San Francisco. If I were any kind of speaker then, which I was not, I could have told the Mayor that San Francisco had one a lot for me, too. While Joe was beginning to hit home runs and break more records, the third Di Maggio, this one Dominic, was making his way up the same baseball ladder. He was the smallest and youngest of the Di Maggios.

I was determined to become a big leaguer, said Dom, to disprove all those cracks that I was being given my start just because of my brothers. Wrote one cruel sportswriter: He is the tail on Joes kite. Dom was named most valuable player on the Seals and in 1940 went to the Boston Red Sox where he was known as the Little Professor. He soon moved out of Joes deep shadows, which blanketed him in his early years and ran up an impressive record of his own. I think Pops pride and joy was Dom, said Joe. When Dominic was in short pants, Pop wanted him to become a lawyer because he wears glasses. Dom, who never looked as though hed grow to be five feet, gained five inches in his 18th year and promptly turned to baseball. As a purely personal opinion, I think hes the best defensive outfielder Ive ever seen. Dominic fished more than either of his baseball brothers, Vince or Joe.

He enjoyed the clear moonlit nights, the easy motions of the fishing boat and the harvest of fish that poured from the nets. He often went out with his brother Mike and on one occasion had a near brush with tragedy. Mike and I were out this night, said Dominic, It was rough and choppy. We had a net out and were rounding a point. Usually the current took us out. This time it carried us in. We never learned why. There was a reef off the point, with just a narrow passage between it and the mainland. Our only choice was to squeeze through. Just as we reached it, Mike cut the net loose, and in we went. There was a strong current. The water came up to the gunwales and we scraped bottom, but we went through. If wed ever hit or stuck well, we lost the net but saved our lives. Tragedy later struck down Mike in 1953, at the age of 44, when he fell from his boat while fishing in the Bay and drowned. By now Joe and the Di Maggio family were national celebrities.

The elder Di Maggio was always being greeted on the Wharf by friends and strangers alike, who wanted to talk baseball. With three of his sons in baseball Zio Pepe learned enough of the game to carry on conversations about batting averages and who was going to win the pennant. Zio Pepe developed an uncanny sense of prophecy about Joes game. In 1938, he predicted Joe would hit 46 home runs, which he did. Joe crossed him up in 1940. The elder Di Maggio called for 30 home runs, and Joe hit 31. Joe went on to many baseball records. He led the American League in batting in 1939 and 1940 and let in the number of home runs in 1937 and 1948. He batted safely in 56 consecutive games in 1941 for a new record, and he was named the most valuable player in the American League in 1939, 1941 and 1947.

If there was any doubts of Joes role as a celebrity outside of the playing field they were dispelled on November 19, 1939, when he married movie actress Dorothy Arnold, whom he met while making a movie in Hollywood. The ceremony was held at St. Peter and Paul Church in North Beach and some 30,000 persons crowded the church inside and outside to see the famed couple. Fans climbed trees and stood on rooftops to catch a glimpse of the couple leaving the church. With the baseball Di Maggios earning more money than any fisherman ever dreamed, Joe first bough a new home for his folks in the Marina District, and still comfortably near the Wharf. In 1937, the Di Maggios decided to open a restaurant on the Wharf, called Joe Di Maggios Grotto, and the huge electric sign showed Joe in his familiar baseball hitting stance. The walls of the restaurant itself were lined with pictures of Joes and Doms and Vinces baseball buddies. Tom took over management of the restaurant and it proved an excellent opportunity for the older Di Maggio to retire gracefully from fishing.

The elder Di Maggio took great pride in preparing meals for baseball players who visited the Grotto during the off season. He often cooked them the Italian dish of cioppino, gave them towels for bibs and told them to dig in with fingers, no knives or forks permitted. Divorce came to Joe and Dorothy Arnold in 1944, and then came his much publicized romance and marriage to film actress Marilyn Monroe in January of 1954. They were married at City Hall in San Francisco and reporters stood on chairs to look over the transom at the judge performing the ceremony. Joe brought Marilyn to live with him in a home near the Wharf in San Francisco. Sometimes they could be seen early in the morning fishing off Joes boat, the Yankee Clipper. In the evening they could be seen walking along the pier, holding hands and passing by many tourists who failed to recognize the famed couple. Columnists took delight in writing about Marilyn shopping in neighborhood stores and not being recognized. But all was not rosy. Joe was then 39, and Marilyn, 27, and there was a growing disharmony in their temperaments.

Joe had been through his baseball career and he was tired of publicity, while Marilyn was thriving on it. Joe was intolerant of tardiness, while Marilyn was always late. In a much repeated story, Marilyn appeared before some 10,000 troops in Korean to entertain and later exclaimed to Joe: You never heard such cheering! and Joe replied, Yes, I have. They separated nine months after their marriage and were later divorced. Marilyn later married, and divorced, playwright Arthur Miller. But after Marilyns death it was a sorrowful Joe who made the funeral arrangements. He described Marilyn as a warmhearted girl that those people in Hollywood took advantage of. In time, Joe sold out his interest in the family restaurant, though he was seen there on many occasions over the years. He invested his money wisely and took part in a number of business deals. He returned to baseball in 1968 as a coach for the newly transferred Oakland Athletics. Vince, who played on a number of major league teams, retired to live and work as a carpenter in nearby Pittsburg, California.

Dom became the most successful in the business world and went to live in a fashionable Boston suburb with his family. In: Crab is King: the colorful stories and the fascinating history of Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco, also some favorite Wharf recipes by Bernard Averbuch. San Francisco : Mabuhay Pub. Co., 1973. Joe Di Maggio Bibliography Author: Di Maggio, Joe, 1914- Baseball for Everyone; a Treasury of Baseball Lore and Instruction for Fans and Players. Line illus. by Lenny Hollreister. Advisory board of baseball experts: Carl Hubbell [and others], with a special chapter How to score, by Red Barber.

New York, Whittlesey House [1948] Di Maggio, Joe, 1914- Joe DiMaggio, Yankee Clipper, Dies at 84 - The New York Times The New York Times Sports |Joe DiMaggio, Yankee Clipper, Dies at 84 Search Joe DiMaggio, Yankee Clipper, Dies at 84 By JOSEPH DURSO Continue reading the main story Joe DiMaggio, the flawless center fielder for the New York Yankees who, along with Babe Ruth and Mickey Mantle, symbolized the team's dynastic success across the 20th century and whose 56-game hitting streak in 1941 made him an instant and indelible American folk hero, died early today at his home here. He was 84 years old. DiMaggio died shortly after midnight, nearly five months after undergoing surgery for cancer of the lungs. He had spent 99 days in the hospital while battling lung infections and pneumonia, and his illness generated a national vigil as he was reported near death several times. He went home on Jan. 19, alert but weak and with little hope of surviving.

Several family members and close friends were at his bedside this morning. DiMaggio's body was flown to Northern California for a funeral Thursday and for burial in San Francisco, his hometown. In a country that has idolized and even immortalized its 20th century heroes, from Charles A. Lindbergh to Elvis Presley, no one more embodied the American dream of fame and fortune or created a more enduring legend than Joe DiMaggio. He became a figure of unequaled romance and integrity in the national mind because of his consistent professionalism on the baseball field, his marriage to the Hollywood star Marilyn Monroe, his devotion to her after her death, and the pride and courtliness with which he carried himself throughout his life. Continue reading the main story DiMaggio burst onto the baseball scene from San Francisco in the 1930's and grew into the game's most gallant and graceful center fielder. He wore No. 5 and became the successor to Babe Ruth (No. 3) and Lou Gehrig (No. 4) in the Yankees' pantheon.

DiMaggio was the team's superstar for 13 seasons, beginning in 1936 and ending in 1951, and appeared in 11 All-Star Games and 10 World Series. He was, as the writer Roy Blount Jr. once observed, ''the class of the Yankees in times when the Yankees outclassed everybody else.'' Advertisement Continue reading the main story He was called the Yankee Clipper and was acclaimed at baseball's centennial in 1969 as ''the greatest living ballplayer,'' the man who in 1,736 games with the Yankees had a career batting average of .325 and hit 361 home runs while striking out only 369 times, one of baseball's most amazing statistics.

(By way of comparison, Mickey Mantle had 536 homers and struck out 1,710 times; Reggie Jackson slugged 563 homers and struck out 2,597 times.) But DiMaggio's game was so complete and elegant that it transcended statistics; as The New York Times said in an editorial when he retired, ''The combination of proficiency and exquisite grace which Joe DiMaggio brought to the art of playing center field was something no baseball averages can measure and that must be seen to be believed and appreciated.'' DiMaggio glided across the vast expanse of center field at Yankee Stadium with such incomparable grace that long after he stopped playing, the memory of him in full stride remains evergreen. He disdained theatrical flourishes and exaggerated moves, never climbing walls to make catches and rarely diving headlong. He got to the ball just as it fell into his glove, making the catch seem inevitable, almost preordained. The writer Wilfrid Sheed wrote, ''In dreams I can still see him gliding after fly balls as if he were skimming the surface of the moon.'' His batting stance was as graceful as his outfield stride.

He stood flat-footed at the plate with his feet spread well apart, his bat held still just off his right shoulder. When he swung, his left, or front, foot moved only slightly forward. His swing was pure and flowing with an incredible follow-through. Casey Stengel, the Yankee manager for DiMaggio's last three seasons, said, ''He made the rest of them look like plumbers.'' At his peak, he was serenaded as ''Joltin' Joe DiMaggio'' by Les Brown and saluted as ''the great DiMaggio'' by Ernest Hemingway in ''The Old Man and the Sea.'' He was mentioned in dozens of films and Broadway shows; the sailors in ''South Pacific'' sing that Bloody Mary's skin is ''tender as DiMaggio's glove.'' Years later, he was remembered by Paul Simon, who wondered with everybody else: ''Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes to you.'' Sensitive to anything written, spoken or sung about him, he confessed that he was puzzled by Simon's lyrics and sought an answer when he met Simon in a restaurant in New York.

''I asked Paul what the song meant, whether it was derogatory,'' DiMaggio recalled. ''He explained it to me.'' [Op-Ed article, page A29.] When injuries eroded his skills and he could no longer perform to his own standard, he turned his back on his $100,000 salary -- he and his rival Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox then drew the largest paychecks in sports -- and retired in 1951 with the dignity that remained his hallmark. His stormy marriage to Marilyn Monroe lasted less than a year, but they remained one of America's ultimate romantic fantasies: the tall, dark and handsome baseball hero wooing and winning the woman who epitomized Hollywood beauty, glamour and sexuality. He was private and remote. Even Monroe, at their divorce proceedings, said he was given to black moods and would tell her, ''Leave me alone.'' He once said, with disdain, that he kept track of all the books written about his storied life without his consent, and by the late 1990's knew that the count had passed 33.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story Yet he could be proud, reclusive and vain in such a composed, almost studied way that his reclusiveness contributed to his mystique. In the book ''Summer of '49,'' David Halberstam wrote that DiMaggio ''guards his special status carefully, wary of doing anything that might tarnish his special reputation. He tends to avoid all those who might define him in some way other than the way he defined himself on the field.'' Quietly Doing It All For 13 Seasons DiMaggio joined the Yankees in 1936, missed three years while he served in the Army Air Forces in World War II, then returned and played through the 1951 season, when Mickey Mantle arrived to open yet another era in the remarkable run of Yankee success. In his 13 seasons, DiMaggio went to bat 6,821 times, got 2,214 hits, knocked in 1,537 runs, amassed 3,948 total bases and reached base just under 40 percent of the time. For decades, baseball fans argued over who was the better pure hitter, DiMaggio or Williams.

Long after both had retired, Williams said: ''In my heart, I always felt I was a better hitter than Joe. But I have to say, he was the greatest baseball player of our time. He could do it all.'' And he did it all with a sureness and coolness that seemed to imply an utter lack of emotion. DiMaggio was once asked why he did not vent his frustrations on the field by kicking a bag or tossing a bat. The outfielder, who chain-smoked cigarettes and had suffered from ulcers, replied: ''I can't. It wouldn't look right.'' But he betrayed his sensitivity in a memorable gesture of annoyance in the sixth game of the 1947 World Series after his long drive was run down and caught in front of the 415-foot sign in left-center field at Yankee Stadium by Al Gionfriddo of the Brooklyn Dodgers. As DiMaggio rounded first base, he saw Gionfriddo make the catch and, with his head down, kicked the dirt. The angry gesture was so shocking that it made headlines. In the field, DiMaggio ran down long drives with a gliding stride and deep range.

In 1947, he tied what was then the American League fielding record for outfielders by making only one error in 141 games. He also had one of the most powerful and precise throwing arms in the business and was credited with 153 assists in his 13 seasons. His longtime manager, Joe McCarthy, once touched on another DiMaggio skill. ''He was the best base runner I ever saw,'' McCarthy said. ''He could have stolen 50, 60 bases a year if I let him. He wasn't the fastest man alive. He just knew how to run bases better than anybody.'' Advertisement Continue reading the main story Three times DiMaggio was voted his league's most valuable player: in 1939, 1941 and 1947. In 1941, the magical season of his 56-game hitting streak, he won the award even though Williams batted .406. In each of his first four seasons with the Yankees, DiMaggio played in the World Series, and the Yankees won all four. He appeared in the Series 10 times in 13 seasons over all, and nine times the Yankees won.

And although he failed to get enough votes to make the baseball Hall of Fame when he became eligible in 1953, perhaps because his aloofness had alienated some of the writers who did the voting, he sailed into Cooperstown two years later. Whitey Ford was a rookie pitcher in 1950 when he first saw DiMaggio, and he later remembered, ''I just stared at the man for about a week.'' Baseball Blood In a Fisherman's Family Joseph Paul DiMaggio was born on Nov. 25, 1914, in Martinez, Calif., a small fishing village 25 miles northeast of the Golden Gate. He was the fourth son and the eighth of nine children born to Giuseppe Paolo and Rosalie DiMaggio, who had immigrated to America in 1898 from Sicily. His father was a fisherman who moved his family to North Beach, the heavily Italian section near the San Francisco waterfront, the year Joe was born. The two oldest sons, Tom and Michael, joined their father as fishermen; Michael later fell off a boat and drowned. But the three other sons became major league outfielders by way of the sandlots of San Francisco.

Vince, four years older than Joe, played 10 seasons with five teams and led the National League in strikeouts six times. Dominic, three years younger than Joe, was known as the Little Professor because he wore eyeglasses when he played 11 seasons with the Boston Red Sox, hitting .298 for his career. Of the three, Joe was the natural. He started as a shortstop in the Boys Club League when he was 14, dropped out of Galileo High School after one year and joined Vince on the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League, the highest level of minor league baseball. It was 1932, and Joe was still 17 years old. The next year, in his first full season with the Seals, he hit .340 with 28 home runs and knocked in 169 runs in 187 games. He also hit safely in 61 games in a row, eight years before he made history in the big leagues by hitting in 56. He tore up the league during the next two seasons, hitting .341 and .398.

But he injured his left knee stepping out of a cab while hurrying to dinner at his sister's house after a Sunday doubleheader and was considered damaged goods by most of the teams in the big leagues. Please verify you're not a robot by clicking the box. Invalid email address. Please re-enter. You must select a newsletter to subscribe to. Sign Up Privacy Policy He got his chance at the majors because two scouts, Joe Devine and Bill Essick, persisted in recommending him to the Yankees. The general manager, Ed Barrow, talked it over with his colleagues. And for $25,000 plus five players, the Yankees bought him from the Seals. DiMaggio was left in San Francisco for the 1935 season to heal his knee and put the finishing touches on his game, then was brought up to New York in 1936 to join a talented team that included Lou Gehrig, Bill Dickey, Tony Lazzeri, Red Rolfe, Red Ruffing and Lefty Gomez. It was two years after Babe Ruth had left, and an era of success had ended.

Advertisement Continue reading the main story But now, the rookie from California was arriving with a contract for $8,500, and a new era was beginning. It was delayed because of a foot injury, but DiMaggio made his debut on May 3 against the St. Louis Browns. He went on to play 138 games, got 206 hits with 29 home runs, batted .323 and drove in 125 runs. In the fall, the Yankees made the first of four straight trips to the World Series -- they would go on to play in 22 out of 29 Series through 1964 -- and the rookie hit .346 against the Giants and made a spectacular catch in deepest center field in the Polo Grounds before a marveling crowd of 43,543, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt. DiMaggio's luster was sometimes dimmed by salary disputes. In 1937 he hit .346 with 46 home runs and 167 r.b.i.

and the following year he held out for $40,000, but was forced to sign for $25,000. DiMaggio's holdout lasted a couple of weeks into the season; when he returned, he was booed. When he began the 1941 season, he had missed four of his first five openers because of injury or salary fights, and many fans resented it. ''He got hurt early in his career, more than he ever let on,'' Phil Rizzuto once said. He also had to endure the casual bigotry that existed when he first came up. Life magazine, in a 1939 article intending to compliment him, said: ''Although he learned Italian first, Joe, now 24, speaks English without an accent, and is otherwise well adapted to most U.S. mores. Instead of olive oil or smelly bear grease he keeps his hair slick with water. He never reeks of garlic and prefers chicken chow mein to spaghetti.'' But he energized the fans by leading the league in hitting in 1939 (at .381) and again in 1940 (.352).

Then in 1941, he put together what has since been known simply as the Streak, and fashioned perhaps the most enduring record in sports. Streaks were nothing new to DiMaggio. He had hit in those 61 straight games for the Seals, in 18 straight as a rookie with the Yankees, in 22 straight the next year and in 23 straight the year after that. In fact, in 1941, he hit safely in the last 19 games in spring training, and he kept hitting for eight more games after the regular season opened. The Streak began on May 15, 1941, with a single in four times at bat against the Chicago White Sox. The next day, he hit a triple and a home run. Two weeks later, he had a swollen neck but still hit three singles and a home run in Washington. The next week against the St. Louis Browns, he went 3 for 5 in one game, then 4 for 8 in a doubleheader the next day with a double and three home runs. His streak stood at 24.

On June 17, he broke the Yankees' club record of 29 games. On June 26, he was hitless with two out in the eighth inning against the Browns, but he doubled, and his streak reached 38. On June 29, in a doubleheader against Washington, DiMaggio lined a double in the first game to tie George Sisler's modern major league record of hitting in 41 straight games and then broke Sisler's record in the second game by lining a single. On July 1, with a clean single against the Red Sox at Yankee Stadium, he matched Willie Keeler's major league record of 44 games, set in 1897 when foul balls did not count as strikes. The next day he broke it with a three-run homer. As DiMaggio kept hitting safely, radio announcers kept an excited America informed, Bojangles Robinson danced on the Yankee dugout roof at the Stadium for good luck, and Les Brown recorded ''Joltin' Joe DiMaggio . . .

we want you on our side.'' The Streak Ends, But Not the Heroics The Streak finally ended on the steamy night of July 17 in Cleveland, before 67,468 fans at Municipal Stadium. The Cleveland pitchers were Al Smith and Jim Bagby Jr., but the stopper was the Indians' third baseman, Ken Keltner, who made two dazzling backhand plays deep behind third base to rob DiMaggio of hits. It is sometimes overlooked that DiMaggio was intentionally walked in the fourth inning of that game, and that he promptly started a 16-game streak the next day. Advertisement Continue reading the main story In 56 games, DiMaggio had gone to bat 223 times and delivered 91 hits for a .408 average, including 15 home runs. He drew 21 walks, twice was hit by pitched balls, scored 56 runs and knocked in 55. He hit in every game for two months, and struck out just seven times. The Yankees, fourth in the American League when the streak began, were six games in front when it ended, and won the pennant by 17.

DiMaggio was passing milestones in his personal life, too. In 1939, he married an actress, Dorothy Arnold. In October 1941, his only child, Joseph Jr., was born. In addition to his son, he is survived by his brother Dominic; two granddaughters, Paula and Cathy; and four great-grandchildren. On Dec. 3, 1942, DiMaggio enlisted in the Army Air Forces and spent the next three years teaching baseball in the service. Along with other baseball stars like Bob Feller and Williams, he resumed his career as soon as the war ended, returning to the Yankees for the 1946 season and a year later leading them back into the World Series. His most dramatic moments came in the season of 1949, after he was sidelined by bone spurs on his right heel and did not play until June 26. Then he flew to Boston to join the team in Fenway Park, hit a single and home run the first two times he went to bat, hit two more home runs the next day and another the day after that. The Yankees entered the final two days of that season trailing the Red Sox by one game.

They had to sweep two games in Yankee Stadium to win the pennant, and they did. There were poignant moments before the first game when 69,551 fans rocked the stadium and cheered their hero, who was being honored with a Joe DiMaggio Day. He was almost too weak to play because of a severe viral infection, but he did, and he hit a single and double before removing himself from center field on wobbly legs. After the Yankees won yet another World Series in 1951, he retired and eased into a second career as Joe DiMaggio, legend. It included cameo roles as a broadcaster, a spring training instructor with the Yankees and a coach with the Oakland Athletics, appearances at old-timers' games, where he was invariably the last player introduced, and a larger role, with surprising impact, as a mellow and credible pitchman on television commercials. He had long since created an image of a loner both on and off the playing field, particularly in the 1930's and 1940's when he lived in hotels in Manhattan and was considered something of a man about town.

He once was characterized by a teammate as the man ''who led the league in room service.'' But he spent many evenings at Toots Shor's restaurant in Manhattan, where he hid out at a private table far in the back while Shor protected him from his public. Advertisement Continue reading the main story But his legend took a storybook turn in 1952, the year after he retired from the Yankees, when DiMaggio, whose marriage to Dorothy Arnold had ended in divorce in 1944, arranged a dinner date with Marilyn Monroe in California. They were married in San Francisco on Jan. 14, 1954, and spent nine months trying to reconcile their differences before they divorced in October. DiMaggio always seemed tortured by Monroe's sex goddess image. He protested loudly during the making of Billy Wilder's ''The Seven Year Itch'' when the script called for her to cool herself over a subway grate while a sudden wind blew her skirt up high. But when the actress seemed on the verge of an emotional collapse in 1961, DiMaggio took her to the Yankees' training camp in Florida for rest and support.

And when she died of an overdose of barbiturates at age 36 on Aug. 4, 1962, he took charge of her funeral, and for the next 20 years he sent roses three times a week to her crypt in the Westwood section of Los Angeles. Finally at Ease In the Spotlight When DiMaggio made an unexpected and dramatic return to the public scene in the 1970's as a television spokesman for the Bowery Savings Bank of New York and for Mr. Coffee, a manufacturer of coffee makers, he did it with remarkable ease for a man who had been obsessed with privacy, who had once confided that he always had ''a knot'' in his stomach because he was so shy and tense. Gone was the stage fright that had rattled him during earlier sorties into broadcasting. Instead, he was the epitome of credibility, the graying and trustworthy hero who had hit his home runs and was now returning to extol the virtues of saving money and brewing coffee. He soon became a familiar and comforting presence for a generation of baseball fans who never saw him play.

For some years, he lived in San Francisco with his widowed sister Marie in a house in the Marina District that he had bought for his parents in 1939 and that he and his sister had shared with Marilyn Monroe. When the damp San Francisco climate troubled the arthritis in his back, he began to spend most of his time in Florida, where he established his home. He played golf and made selected excursions to Europe and the Far East, where the demand for his appearance and his autograph returned high dividends. But he seemed to take the most pleasure in establishing a children's wing, called the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital, at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Fla. And he seemed to relish the invitations back to Yankee Stadium, where he frequently threw out the first ball on opening day, tall but slightly stooped, dressed elegantly, as always, in a dark business suit, walking to the mound and lobbing one to the catcher. It was there on the day the season ended last year, as the Yankees set a team record with their 114th victory, that he was acclaimed on yet another Joe DiMaggio Day, the timeless hero and the symbol of Yankee excellence, acknowledging the cheers of Yankee players and fans.

It was the kind of cheering that accompanied him through life and that he had quietly come to expect. It recalled the time when he and Monroe, soon after their wedding, took a trip to Tokyo. She continued on to entertain American troops in Korea, and said with fascination when she returned, ''Joe, you've never heard such cheering.'' And Joe DiMaggio replied softly, ''Yes, I have.'' The Greatest Yankees Nicknames The Greatest Yankees Nicknames Counting down the greatest nicknames in Yankees history 05/31/2008 2:54 PM ET Email The Iron Horse, Lou Gehrig, tops our list. (AP) As Yankee Stadium prepares to make its final curtain call, YESNetwork.com looked at the greatest Yankees nicknames in the organization's history. We revealed our list of the best nicknames to ever don the pinstripes, but we also want to know what you think. Do you agree with our list? Do you have a list of your own? Post your thoughts now . 1. THE IRON HORSE The choice of the Iron Horse as the top Yankees nickname goes beyond Henry Louis Gehrig the athlete.

Yes, he played in 2,130 consecutive games, a record that stood untouched until 1995. Surely his seven All-Star game appearances, 1,995 RBIs and lifetime batting average of .340 merited immediate Hall of Fame status. The fact that Gehrig had fortitude made of iron and steel and never  ever  accepted defeat is what makes him a Yankee legend for eternity. It appeared as if Gehrig would play forever until he was stricken with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), which later became known as Lou Gehrig's Disease. On May 2, 1939, Gehrig asked manager Joe McCarthy to take him out of the lineup.

On June 21, the Yankees announced Gehrig's retirement and proclaimed July 4, 1939, Lou Gehrig Appreciation Day. Proving that he was physically, mentally and emotionally tough, Gehrig, a dying man speaking to a sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium, considered himself The Luckiest Man on the Face of the Earth. Incredibly, a man who knew he was going to die told his teammates and fans how lucky was and that he had an awful lot to live for. Gehrig died at age 39, but his indomitable spirit was the true driving force behind the moniker, The Iron Horse. 2. MR. OCTOBER Reggie Jackson finished his 21-season career with 563 home runs and five World Series rings, but the moment that defined him as one of baseball's most familiar figures came during the 1977 Series against the Dodgers. After hitting home runs in Games 4 and 5, Jackson went yard in three consecutive at-bats during Game Six, finishing with a dramatic 475-foot shot among chants of "Reg-GIE! Reg-GIE!

Reg-GIE!" The performance secured his place as one of the all-time great clutch hitters. In a postgame interview during the '77 Series, Yankees great Thurman Munson thought reporters would be better off talking to the hot-hitting Jackson. He told them to go ask "Mr. October," a title that would stick with him through the ages. 3. PHIL "SCOOTER" RIZZUTO Phil Rizzuto received the nickname "Scooter" while in the Minor Leagues, when infielder Billy Hitchcock noticed Rizzuto's short legs and said, "You ain't runnin', you're scootin.'" Rizzuto would scoot to the Majors and earn American League's Most Valuable Player honors in 1950 after leading the Yankees to their second consecutive pennant with a .324 batting average. Scooter played a major role on a team dynasty that captured 10 AL titles in his 13 seasons. Rizzuto himself played in nine World Series, winning seven, and his popularity reached new heights when he called Yankees games on radio and television for the next 40 years.

Not only was Scooter behind the mic when Roger Maris belted his 61st home run, he became best known for his popular catchphrase, "Holy cow!" 4. THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD Edwin Charles Ford was given the nickname "Whitey" while playing in the Minor Leagues for his blond hair. But it was when Ford ascended to the ace of the Yankees pitching staff that he was called "The Chairman of the Board" for his ability to remain calm and in control during high-pressure situations. Ford anchored the rotation of the famed 1961 team, posting a 25-4 record with a 3.21 ERA to win the Cy Young Award. His 236 all-time wins is still a Yankees franchise record and Ford's .690 winning percentage still ranks first among pitchers with at least 300 career decisions. Among those with at least 200, only Pedro Martinez (.692) rates higher than The Chairman of the Board. 5. THE SULTAN OF SWAT George Herman Ruth became known as Babe while living in an orphanage. According to the official Babe Ruth Web site, one of his teachers introduced him to Baltimore Orioles manager Joe Dunn.

After watching him pitch, Dunn signed him and became his legal guardian. Ruth's new teammates nicknamed him "Jack's newest babe." Because Ruth went on to belt 714 home runs and post a record .690 lifetime slugging percentage, writers attempted to capture the essence of his greatness by giving him nicknames like "The Great Bambino" and "The Sultan of Swat." 6. THE YANKEE CLIPPER In November 1914, Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio was born. Not many people outside of his hometown of Martinez, Calif., knew much about the young boy at the time. Fast forward to 1936, and the entire nation was talking about the Yankee rookie with a .323 batting average  Joe DiMaggio, formerly Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio. In fact, DiMaggio became so popular with the American public that he adopted several nicknames, including "Joltin' Joe" and "Joe D." But it's "The Yankee Clipper" that helps land DiMaggio on the list of greatest Yankees nicknames.

While patrolling center field in Yankee Stadium, DiMaggio looked as smooth and graceful as the popular 19th century clipper sailing ships known for their speed and ability to cut through wavy waters. 7. DONNIE BASEBALL Though Don Mattingly's first nickname was "The Hit Man," he is best known as "Donnie Baseball" and is one of the most popular Yankees in franchise history. It was Hall of Famer Kirby Puckett who created the moniker for a player who played each game as hard as he could and is recognized as one of the game's finest defensive first basemen. Mattingly's popularity is up there with Ruth, Gehrig, Mickey Mantle, Yogi Berra and Joe DiMaggio. Although he never played in a World Series game, Donnie Baseball annually receives the loudest ovations at the Yankees' Old Timer's Day event. 8. GATOR Two decades after throwing his final pitch as a member of the New York Yankees, Ron Guidry can't walk the hallowed halls of Yankee Stadium without hearing, "Hey, Gator" from friends and former teammates.

Rarely, if ever, will Guidry be called by his real name, proving that his nickname is one of the best in Yankees history. Also known as "Louisiana Lightning," Guidry authored one of the greatest single seasons in baseball history in 1978, posting a 25-3 record with a 1.74 ERA and 248 strikeouts. Gator started the '78 season 13-0 to keep the Yankees from falling hopelessly out of playoff contention, and won 10 of his final 12 decisions to play a major role in New York's comeback from 14 ½ games out of first place to overtake the Boston Red Sox in an epic one-game playoff at Fenway Park. 9. MOOSE Two prominent Yankees shared the Moose moniker. One was Bill Skowron, a five-time All-Star as a Yankee (1957-61) and an annual participant in Old Timer's Day.

As a joke, Skowron's friends called him "Mussolini" as a joke thanks to similar haircut given to him by his grandfather, until his family shortened the nickname to "Moose." After starring with the Orioles for nine seasons, Mike Mussina joined the Yankees as a free agent in 2001. He made an immediate impression by going 17-11 with a 3.15 ERA and was one strike away from a perfect game against the Red Sox on Sept. 2. Each time Mussina gets to two strikes on a batter, and whenever he leaves a game after an impressive performance, Yankees fans shower Mussina with a "Moose" call. 10. THE MICK Decades before nicknames like "The Jake" and "The Bob" became popular within MLB circles, Mickey Mantle was affectionately known as "The Mick". Of course, on a list of all-time great Yankee players, Mickey Mantle would easily come in higher than No. 10, but when it comes to the best nicknames in the organization's history, The Mick settles in a little lower. But that doesn't mean it's not a great nickname.

In fact, its simplicity is what attracted YESNetwork.com's editorial staff to select it to the Top 10. The Baseball Guru - Remembering the Yankee Clipper: Joe DiMaggio by Harvey Frommer Remembering the Yankee Clipper: Joe DiMaggio By Harvey Frommer He was born November 25, 1914 in Martinez, California, and he would have been celebrating his 85th birthday this week. Too bad the Yankee Clipper didn't get the chance to blow out the candles. Joseph Paul DiMaggio was one of nine children of a fisherman father who had emigrated from Sicily. It was all planned for Joe to become a fisherman like his father, but Joe could not abide the smell of fish and he often got seasick. His real passion was playing baseball. In 1934, he was playing baseball about as well as it could be played when his contract with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League was purchased by the Yankees. The deal contained the clause that the graceful outfielder be allowed to play one more season for the seals.

His 1935 season gave the people of San Francisco something to remember - he batted .398, recorded 270 hits, and drove in 154 runs. Permission was granted for DiMag in 1936 to drive cross-country with fellow San Franciscans Tony Lazzeri and Frank Crosetti to the Yankee spring training camp in St. Petersburg, Florida. Lazzeri turned to DiMaggio after the trio had concluded one day of driving and said, "You take over, Joe." "I don't drive," DiMaggio answered It was reported that these were the only words he uttered during the entire three-day automobile trek. As a Yankee he didn't do much talking either. His abilities on the playing field said it all. He would step into the batter's box and stub his right toe into the dirt in back of his left heel. It was almost a dance step. His feet were spaced approximately four feet apart, with the weight of his frame on his left leg. Erect, almost in a military position, Joe Dee would hold his bat at the end and poise it on his right shoulder - a rifle at the ready.

He would look at the pitcher from deep in the batter's box and assume a stance that almost crowded the plate. He was ready. In DiMaggio's time - 13 seasons with the Yankees - they won 10 pennants. In 1951, the man they called the Yankee Clipper, retired at age 36. Management attempted to get him to perform in pinstripes for one more season. But he had too much pride, and too much pain. He knew it was over. Joseph Paul DiMaggio left behind the memory of a player who moved about in the vast centerfield of Yankee Stadium with an almost poetical grace. He had played when he was fatigued, when he was hurt, when it mattered a great deal, and when it didn't matter at all. "Joe was the complete player in everything he did," said his former manager Joe McCarthy. "They'd hit the ball to center field and Joe would stretch out those long legs of his and run the ball down.

He never made a mistake on the bases and in Yankee Stadium, a tough park for a right-hander, he was a great hitter, one of the best." DiMag had a career average of .325, 361 home runs, eight World Series home runs, and two batting championships. He also won three MVP's and hold the record of 56 straight games with a hit. "Those statistics don't even tell half the story," said DiMag's former teammate pitcher Eddie Lopat. "What he meant to the Yankees, you'll never find in the statistics. He was the real leader of our team. He was the best." That he was! "I'd like to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee." "There was an aura about him," Phil Rizzuto said. "Joe didn't sweat," veteran sportswriter Red Foley said, "he perspired." The date was March 17, 1936. In his first game with the Yankees, Joe DiMaggio rapped our four hits as New York lost to the St. Louis Cardinals in a spring training exhibition game. That was how he started - and he never let up.

He was born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio on November 25, 1914 in Martinez, California, one of nine children of Rosalie and Giuseppe DiMaggio, a crab fisherman father, an émigré from Sicily. It was all planned for Joe to become a fisherman like him. But his real passion was playing baseball, a game his father called "a bum's game." On the sandlots of San Francisco, the young DiMaggio developed baseball skills by hitting balls with a broken oar from a fishing boat. The kids he played with called him "Long Legs," in Italian. He was always tall for his age. With the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League in 1933, DiMag hit safely in 61 straight games. The next year, playing shortstop, he batted .341, but injured his knee. Yankee scouts Joe Devine and Bill Essick downplayed the injury in their reports to General Manager Ed Barrow. "Don't back off because of the kid's knee," Essick recommended. "He'll be all right.

"Getting him," George Weiss said on many occasions," was the greatest thing I ever did for the Yankees." The deal contained the clause that DiMaggio be allowed to play one more season for the Seals. Did he play! He played and batted .398, recorded 270 hits, and drove in 154 runs. In 1936, permission was granted for DiMag to drive cross-country with fellow San Franciscans Tony Lazzeri and Frank Crosetti to the Yankee spring training camp in Florida. Lazzeri turned to DiMaggio after the trio had concluded one day of driving and asked: "Would you like to take over and drive?" "I don't drive." It was reported that those were the only words uttered by DiMag in that three day cross country trek. "Joe DiMaggio was a guy who didn't graduate from high school," noted Jerry Coleman. "He went to about the 10th grade. He was totally insecure, and consequently his quietness came from his saying nothing rather than saying something that would make him look bad." On March 2, l936 DiMaggio finally reported to spring training.

Red Ruffing greeted him with "So you're the great DiMaggio?" He played in his first major league game on May 3, 1936, at Yankee Stadium against the St. Louis Browns. In his first time at bat, he hit the second pitch into left field for a single. He had another single and then a triple to left field. Joe DiMaggio played 138 games in his rookie season, hit .323, with 29 home runs and 125 runs batted in. He would step into the batter's box and stub his right toe into the dirt in back of his left heel. It was almost a dance step. His feet were spaced approximately four feet apart, with the weight of his frame on his left leg. Erect, almost in a military position, Joe Dee would hold his bat at the end and poise it on his right shoulder - a rifle at the ready. He would peer at the pitcher from deep in the batter's box with a stance that almost crowded the plate. He was ready. DiMag held the bat back, and didn't stride very much, maybe four five inches," noted Monte Irvin. "I watched that.

I became a pretty good hitter because I watched Joe. In later years I told him that I copied him." In DiMaggio's first four seasons (1936-39), the Yankees not only won four straight World Series but they also lost only a total of three Series games. "Joe was the complete player in everything he did," said his former manager Joe McCarthy. "They'd hit the ball to center field and Joe would stretch out those long legs of his and run the ball down. He never made a mistake on the bases and in Yankee Stadium, a tough park for a right-hander, he was a great hitter, one of the best." Secure in his feeling that he was the greatest baseball player of his time, Joe DiMaggio was fiercely concerned about his public image. Being silly in public was not for him. His shoes were always shined, all his buttons were always buttoned, his impeccably tailored clothes fit seamlessly. DiMaggio led the major leagues in room service. On road trips, no one ate alone in his hotel room as often as he did. It all fit DiMaggio's personality which seemed placid, disciplined, calm.

Only those in the Yankee clubhouse saw the legs scraped and raw from hard slides or diving catches. Only those in the clubhouse saw him sit for a half hour or more in front of his locker after the Yankees had lost or when he thought he had played beneath his exceptionally high standards. In 1941, the Yankee Clipper put together his season of seasons. He batted .351, paced the American League with 125 RBIs, hit 30 home runs. He also struck out just 13 times. But the centerpiece of that marvelous season was DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak which was a main reason for his winning the MVP award, narrowly edging out Ted Williams who batted .406. Military service and injuries limited DiMaggio to just 13 years in pinstripes. But it was a time the Yankees won 10 pennants and nine world championships. On Joe DiMaggio Day in 1949 the Yankee Clipper said: "When I was in San Francisco, Lefty O'Doul told me: 'Joe, don't let the big city scare you. New York is the friendliest town in the world.' This day proves it.

I want to thank my fans, my friends, my manager Casey Stengel; my teammates, the gamest, fightingest bunch of guys that ever lived. And I want to thank the good Lord for making me a Yankee." DiMaggio won three MVP awards, two batting titles, was named to the All-Star team every season he played, slammed 361 career homers, was struck out just 369 times, averaged 118 RBIs and had a .325 lifetime batting average. The Yankee Clipper homered once every 18.9 at bats, his homer to hit ratio was 1 to 6.13. He won home run titles 11 years apart, 1937 and 1948, slugging percentage titles 13 years apart 1937 and 1950. Those statistics," his teammate Eddie Lopat said,"don't even tell half the story. What he meant to the Yankees, you'll never find in the statistics. He was the real leader of our team. He was the best." In 1951, the man they called the Yankee Clipper, retired at age 36.

Management attempted to get him to perform in pinstripes for one more season. But he had too much pride, and too much pain. "I no longer have it." DiMaggio said. "I can no longer produce for my club, my manager, my teammates and my fans. It has become a chore for me to play. . . . When baseball is no longer fun, it's no longer a game." Joseph Paul DiMaggio left behind the imagery of a player who moved about in the vast centerfield of Yankee Stadium with a poetical grace. He was one who played when he was fatigued, when he was hurt, when it mattered a great deal, and when it didn't matter at all. "I was out there to play and give it all I had all the time," he said. "Joe could do more things just a little better than others,'' former Yankee pitcher Jim Turner recalled. "He was a superb athlete. So graceful, both at bat and in the field. It would be hard to match him for genuine dignity.

He probably was the greatest team player in the history of the game.'' Elected to the Hall of Fame in 1955, Joe DiMaggio passed away on March 8, 1999 at age 84.

(SIDEBAR) Gifts presented to Joe DiMaggio on his day at Yankee Stadium, October 1, 1949: Cadillac automobile, Dodge auto for his mother, Cris-Craft boat, Longine Baro Thermo calendar watch, Waltham watch chain knife, a wallet with religious gifts, golf cuff links, gold belt buckle, 14-karat gold cufflinks and tie pin, 51" loving cup trophy, Admiral television set, Dumont television set, deer rifle, bronze plaque, $100 fedora hat, golf bag, General Electric blanket and radio, Thermos water jug set, 14-karat gold key chain autographed in links, silver loving cup, 25 volumes of Joe DiMaggio Capitol records for Yankee Juniors, set of Lionel trains for Joe Jr., driving and sun glasses for Yankee Juniors, Christmas candy and baseball and bat, 500 Joe DiMaggio shirts in Joe's name to Yankee Juniors, ship's clock, oil painting of Joe DiMaggio, carpeting for his living room in Amsterdam, NY, a Westinghouse toaster, a 14-karat gold money clip, open house privileges at hotels Concourse Plaza and Martin

ique in the Bronx (these hotels also provided a four year college scholarship for a boy of Joe's selection), Il Progresso newspaper medal of honor, 300 quarts of Cardini ice cream for any institution designated by Joe, a statuette neckerchief and clip from the Boy scouts of America, an air-foam mattress and box spring, Fond du Lac Wisconsin cheese, 14-karat gold watch with diamond numerals from the Italian Welfare Association of Elizabeth, NJ, a case of shoestring potatoes, a case of Ventura County oranges, a sack of walnuts, a case of lemonade and frozen lima beans, a hand-painted tie, a polished wood paperweight, a leather wallet, a metal good luck elephant, sterling silver rosary beads for Joe Jr., a portrait from Frank Paladino of Brooklyn, NY, a Sporting News plaque, a dozen gold balls, an ash tray, a Thermo tote bag, a Columbia bicycle for Joe Jr., fishing tackle, luggage, a cocker spaniel from the American Spaniel Club, a plaque from the Columbia Civic Club of Newark, NJ, a traveling bag, a certificate of recognition from the Italian Historical Society of America, Lux Clock Company traveling alarm clock, a sterling

 silver money clip, hand painted ties for Joe and Joe Jr., taxi service for 300 fans from Newark ("This ride is on Joe D.") -- Brown and White Cab Company of Newark, NJ.

The American Experience | Joe DiMaggio: A Hero's Life | People & Events | Joe DiMaggio People & Events Joe DiMaggio The son of a fisherman, Joe DiMaggio is considered one of the most memorable baseball players of all time. For many of the fans who saw him play, he epitomizes grace and excellence. His play, his demeanor and his short marriage to Marilyn Monroe helped make him one of the icons of American pop culture. DiMaggio played for the New York Yankees from 1936 until 1951. Babe Ruth started the tradition of winning, but DiMaggio, with his high standards and leadership, took his New York Yankees team to the World Series ten times, leading them to nine championships. While America was on the brink of World War II, DiMaggio set a record that gripped the entire nation: he got at least one hit in 56 straight games. That 1941 record captured the attention of ordinary Americans, as fans all over the nation checked their radios and asked each other, "Did he get a hit?" The record is one of the most hallowed achievements in baseball history.

DiMaggios skills were much-lauded in his day, and he was voted the American Leagues most valuable player three times. Fans and writers called him "Joltin Joe" because of his hard hitting. He was also dubbed "the Yankee Clipper" because of his graceful fielding in Yankee Stadiums vast center field. His lifetime batting average was .325 and he hit 361 home runs in his career. He also hit 131 triples, 389 doubles, and was involved in 4,529 put-outs in the outfield. In 1954 DiMaggio was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame. In one of his little-known achievements on the baseball diamond, DiMaggio only struck out 369 times in 6,821 at-bats, a remarkably low number for any hard-hitting slugger. His ratio of strike outs to home runs was about one to one, a ratio that is far better than most other home run hitters of his day or ours. However, his reputation as a player far surpassed his statistical achievements. Part of his reputation had to do with his grace on the field.

"He made it look so easy," said Ernie Sisto, a "New York Times" photographer of the day. "It was uncanny, the naturalness. It seemed like he was made for the game. I dont know how to explain it, maybe it was the other way around, like the game was made for him." DiMaggio was renowned for never slacking on the ball field. When asked why he played so hard, he replied: "Because there is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first time. I owe him my best." DiMaggio didn't have the same success off the baseball diamond. In his private life, he was often shy, awkward, and guarded. While still a player, he was married to Universal Picturess "Oomph Girl" Dorothy Arnold, with whom he fathered a son, Joe Jr. But his marriage would crumble after three short years. Following his retirement after the 1951 season, DiMaggio worked briefly as a commentator for Yankee games, but looked and sounded awkward. He later coached and served as vice president with the Oakland Athletics, although his contributions to that team were minor.

DiMaggio's name was catapulted back into the headlines in 1954 when he married Hollywood actress and sex symbol Marilyn Monroe. Nine months later the two were divorced, yet had an on-again, off-again relationship afterwards. DiMaggio told friends that the two were going to be married shortly before Monroe died eight years later. DiMaggio orchestrated the starlets funeral. He kept it private and dignified, forbidding many Hollywood stars to attend the ceremonies. In the years that followed, DiMaggio rarely spoke of her. He had roses delivered to her grave site twice a week for the next twenty years. DiMaggio never married again. In the 1970s, DiMaggio made considerable money as a celebrity in TV commercials for Mr. Coffee, a coffee-making machine, and as spokesman for New York Citys Bowery Savings Bank. DiMaggio spent many of his last years making appearances at baseball and celebrity functions. He was paid well for attending. He also earned income by endorsing, signing, and selling baseball paraphernalia made valuable by his signature. Despite those commercial endorsements, DiMaggios reputation seemed to rise over time.

Rock and roll lyricist Paul Simon helped immortalize the baseball star with his song, "Mrs. Robinson," which included the lament, "Where have you gone Joe DiMaggio? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you." DiMaggio, protective of his reputation, always wanted to be introduced at functions as "Baseballs Greatest Living Player," a title he earned in 1969 in a poll of sports writers. He hoped to live long enough to throw out the first ball on opening day at Yankee Stadium in April, 1999. However, this last hurrah never took place. Joe DiMaggio died on March 8, 1999. He was survived by his son Joe, who died shortly thereafter. written by Dennis Gaffney

Question: Which sportsman was nicknamed 'The Yankee Clipper'?
Answer: JOE DI MAGGIO