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The Return of the Yankee Clipper
Emilio Iodice
Joe DiMaggio, 1946, Courtesy Sports Illustrated
A person always doing his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by
example. Joe DiMaggio
There is always some kid who may be seeing me for the first time. I owe
him my best. Joe DiMaggio
Baseball isn’t statistics; it’s Joe DiMaggio rounding second. Jimmy
Breslin, San Francisco Chronicle, June 3, 1975.
Great leaders never give up. They come in all shapes and sizes
and in all professions from politics to business and the arts and
sports. They persevere no matter what. Such is the story of the
legendary Joe DiMaggio. He was known as the Yankee Clipper.
To those who love baseball, DiMaggio was the benchmark and
arguably, the greatest ball player in history. He was one of the
most popular and recognizable figures of the 20th century and his
influence went beyond sports. He was an iconic figure who
represented heroism and the best of America.
“Known as the Yankee Clipper, he was the undisputed leader of
New York Yankees teams that won nine World Series titles in his
thirteen-year career that ran from 1936 to 1951, with three years
lost to duty in World War II. He was three times the American
League’s Most Valuable Player and he holds what many consider
to be the most remarkable baseball record of all, a 56-game hitting
streak in 1941. As the son of immigrants, he was the embodiment
of the American Dream, a rags-to-riches story played out in
pinstripes.”1
Joe DiMaggio, 1948, Courtesy Sports Illustrated
1 Joseph Baldassare, Society for American Baseball Research, 1999,
http://sabr.org/bioproj/person/a48f1830
DiMaggio returned to the Yankees after the War in late 1945 and
played in the 1946 season. The first years after the war were
difficult ones for the Clipper. His hitting record stayed below his
pre-war performance. Even so, he still received the Most Valuable
Player Award for his overall record of accomplishments.
He was plagued with injuries and, in particular, a painful bone
spur in his left heel. It took months to recover from surgery.
“John Drebinger of the New York Times wrote that DiMaggio
“seems to be giving more prominence to the human heel than it
has received since the days of Achilles.”2 Sports writers began to
speculate that the best years of the Clipper were behind him and it
was time to retire. In one of the most memorable World Series in
history, Joe DiMaggio proved the experts wrong. He hit two
home runs in the 5th game which brought the Bronx Bombers to
victory against the Brooklyn Dodgers. In 1948, he led the
American league in home runs. It was a remarkable feat for any
player but especially amazing for someone suffering from
agonizing wounds. The Clipper was still the pride of the Yankees.
1949 season would prove to be the most challenging of his career.
His bone spur impairment forced DiMaggio to miss the first 65
games of the season. The sports writers contended that the
Clipper was finished. They said that it was time for him to retire.
He no longer had the strength to continue to lead his team to
victory. As usual, the “experts” underestimated the resilience and
faith of Joe DiMaggio. He trusted in a higher authority, he trusted
in himself and, most of all, trusted in those who believed in him.
He would not betray his fans and the millions of children who
looked to him as a hero and an example of someone who would
never give up, even if the odds were against him.
2 Ibid Baldassare.
As legend would have it, DiMaggio set about healing himself,
physically and psychologically. He spent most of the time in bed
in his hotel room. The weeks turned into months. It was a warm,
morning in mid-June, 1949. “Joltin Joe” rose early. He put his
foot down. The pain was gone. It was the wee hours of the
morning. He went to the Stadium. He asked for the pitching
machine to be set up. He warmed up. The device began to shoot
balls like bullets from a gun. DiMaggio hit one after another over
the fence. That day he asked to return to the lineup.
“The Yankee Clipper,” 1949, Courtesy Pinterest
The race for the American League Pennant was underway. It
started on June 28th. The games were against the Yankees’
greatest rival, the Boston Red Sox. The Clipper made his debut in
Fenway Park. He drove in two runs, helping the Bronx Bombers
win 5 to 4. The following day he hit two over the fence and drove
in four. The New York Yankees swept the series. Later in the
season, Boston bounced back. They led one game over the
Bombers. The great Joe DiMaggio was seriously ill. He was
hospitalized with pneumonia. He was weak. Even so, he was in
the lineup.
“The day of the opener, October 1, was also ‘Joe DiMaggio Day.’
Before 69,551 fans, the Yankee Clipper, with his mother and
brother Dom by his side, was lauded in several speeches and
received what the New York Times described as ‘a small mountain
of gifts.’ At the conclusion of the hour-long ceremony, DiMaggio
spoke to the crowd, ending his speech by saying, ‘I want to thank
the good Lord for making me a Yankee.’ DiMaggio, described as
looking ‘wan and weak after his recent siege,’ had told manager
Casey Stengel that he hoped to play three innings. Instead, he
played the entire game. With the Yankees trailing, 4–0, he
doubled in the fourth and scored their first run in the 5–4 win that
brought the two teams to a tie with one game left.”3
Joe DiMaggio conducting a Batting Clinic with Youngsters in 1951, Courtesy Sports Illustrated
The Yankees went on to win the World Series. They won the year
after and the one after that. Then the Yankee Clipper finally
retired. He said, “If I can’t do it right, I don’t want to play any
longer.”4 Joe DiMaggio had the courage to fight to win when he
knew he could and the courage to retire when he knew he could
not.
3 Ibid Baldassare
4 Ibid Baldassare
Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe, 1953 Courtesy Pinterest
There are certain people’s names that are reminders of what men can be
like. To this day, when I hear the name Joe DiMaggio, it is so much more
than a man’s name. It reminds me to play whatever game I’m in with more
grace and pride and dignity…He is a man who speaks to us about how to
walk through life and how to receive the admiration only the famous can
know…and about how to wear defeat and disappointment as if it were just
a passing storm. Men like Joe DiMaggio are not just of their own time.
They are men for the ages. Kevin Costner
It wasn’t just his hitting streak, or even his all-around genius on the field,
it was the way he conducted himself, the example he set for all of us. Joe
DiMaggio was a ‘class act,’ a man of character. George Bush
Players just watched what he did and tried to imitate him.
Everyone gravitated to him. Everybody wanted to be like him. Phil
Rizzuto, Yankee Shortstop
I can describe Joe in one word: class. He was the most perfect ballplayer I
ever saw, but he was a shy fellow. I’ll tell you something else though.
When Joe DiMaggio walks into the clubhouse, the lights flicker. He’s the
star. Pete Sheehy, former Yankee Clubhouse Manager
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. Mickey Mantle
There was never a day when I was as good as Joe DiMaggio at his best.
Joe was the best, the very best I ever saw. Stan Musial
There was majesty in his swing, and a self-assured confidence in style and
conduct that was uniquely Joe DiMaggio’s. In the eye of his public, he was
more than a sports hero. Ernest Hemingway
Joe DiMaggio, Courtesy Sports Illustrated