Joe Dimaggio Biography

In 1969, to commemorate the centenary of professional baseball, a group of journalist prompted the question of America’s greatest ball player. They came to the conclusion that Yankee Clipper Joe DiMaggio deserved that mantle. While there were players in the game with prior averages, none could rival the perfection DiMaggio applied to every facet of the game. He had no weaknesses said teammate Tommy Henrich, whether he went up to back pitching or in the out field, no one could come close. Opponent Hank Greenberg told a sport magazine that the only way to get a hit against the Yankees was to hit him where Joe wasn’t.

Born in California in the 1914, the Sicilian parents, DiMaggio entered probe baseball as an 18 year old. Following in his older brother Vince’s footsteps to the disappointment of his father, he wanted them to be fisherman like himself. He became a sensation and four years later made his major league debut for New York Yankees truly led to nine titles in 13 years. DiMaggio’s greatest achievement was a 56 game hitting straight in the 1941. His strike rate was phenomenal and his 360 run career home runs met with just 369 strike outs.

DiMaggio put his all into his ball play concentrating ferociously as the ball came towards him and swiping it with a deep elegant swing to which he was unknown. Asked why he was putting so much efforts in a none important game played late in his career, DiMaggio said, ‘because there is always some little kid that maybe seeing me for the first time, I owe him my best.

In 1949, the Yankees held a special day to honor DiMaggio and his amazing achievements. DiMaggio wrote in his 1951 authored biography that he was over come by the invasion. Here I was, an immigrant fisherman son standing in front of 70000 people and along side than there, the worlds greatest city. He said, ‘It was overwhelming and I believe enclosing my speech so I said, ‘thank you good Lord for making me a Yankee. I’ve never been more serious in my life.’

Divorced from his first wife in 1943, DiMaggio closed the sensation when he married screen siren Marilyn Monroe after world wind romance. The high profile couple eloped to San Francisco City Hall in 1954 and spent heir honey moon in Japan. The public considered it the marriage of the century.

The recent exhibition on the Queen Mary cruise ship is based on momentous from their relationship but despite the couple’s evident love to each other, there were problems from the start.

Bob Otto: For so long is the love story, we were sitting in this one and then it’s Marilyn and Joe and this is where it’s a combination of Joe’s things and Marilyn’s but it is the things as I look around here, gifts that Marilyn gave to Joe or gift that Joe gave to Marilyn.

Photographers and fans constantly beset the couple and DiMaggio was unprepared for hysteria that accompanied Marilyn wherever she went.

274 days after their wedding, Monroe file for a divorce on the grounds of mental cruelty but DiMaggio never got over Marilyn. After the collapse of their marriage to Arthur Miller and admittance to a psychiatric hospital to treat her drug addiction, DiMaggio came back into her life and encouraged her to break off friendships with people who are supporting her destructive way.

There was talk that there might be married. Sadly Monroe was found dead over an overdose before anything could be finalized.

DiMaggio took charge for her funeral and barge celebrity guests from attending.

Modest, honesty and a hero to million, DiMaggio holds a special place in American history. He died in 1999 and was interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in the Colma, California.