Joe DiMaggio (1914–99,) byname of Joseph Paul DiMaggio, called Joltin’ Joe and the Yankee Clipper, was an American baseball player. An exceptional hitter, fielder, and one of the best all-round players in the history of the game, he exemplified the sports heroes of the 1940s and 1950s.
Born in Martinez, California, to Sicilian immigrant parents, DiMaggio was a sturdy and elegant center fielder and hitter and played his whole career (1936–51) with the New York Yankees. His highest achievement was hitting safely (recording a hit) at least once in 56 consecutive games in the 1941 season. He won the batting championship two times (1939, 1940) and was voted the American League’s Most Valuable Player (MVP) three times. In 1949, he became the American League’s first $100,000 player.
During his career, DiMaggio hit 361 home runs and gathered a lifetime average of .325. In 1954, he married the film actress Marilyn Monroe. At Baseball’s 1969 Centennial Celebration, he was named the game’s most celebrated living player.
Notable biographies include Jack Moore’s Joe DiMaggio: Baseball’s Yankee Clipper (1987) and Rock and John Positano’s Dinner with DiMaggio: Memories of An American Hero (2017.)
More: Wikipedia • READ: Works by Joe DiMaggio
You start chasing a ball and your brain immediately commands your body to Run forward! Bend! Scoop up the ball! Peg it to first! Then your body says who me?
—Joe DiMaggio
Topics: Baseball
A ball player’s got to be kept hungry to become a big-leaguer. That’s why no boy from a rich family ever made the big leagues
—Joe DiMaggio
Topics: Baseball
A ball player has got to be kept hungry be become a big leaguer. That is why no boy from a rich family ever made the big leagues.
—Joe DiMaggio
Topics: Baseball
Focus on your potential instead of your limitations.
—Joe DiMaggio
Topics: Potential
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