Did you know...
Joe DiMaggio? Most of us never saw him play baseball and yet none of us will ever forget him. Why? Maybe because Joe DiMaggio was civil. He was dignified, and he helped change the way Americans thought about Italians.
Joe DiMaggio was born November 25, 1915 in Martinez, California. The same year the family moved to North Beach--the Italian section near San Francisco. His father was a crab fisherman who immigrated to America in 18981 from a small island of Sicily. Joe’s older brother also became a fisherman; but not Joe! He started professional baseball with the San Francisco Seals in 1932 when he was seventeen. He was 21 when the New York Yankees bought his contract. In 1936 he was the first rookie to start in the All Stars game! The Yankees went on to win the World Series in 1936 with DiMaggio batting .346. He was thirteen years with the New York Yankees, played in ten World Series games, and won nine times. DiMaggio was injured often in his career, but he played through the pain. He played perfectly even with the pain of the bone spur in his heel. DiMaggio retired in 1951; and in 1955 was elected into the Hall of Fame. Joe DiMaggio died March 8, 1999, and we all wished him Godspeed; and Joe, thanks for the memories!
P.S. DiMaggio married Marilyn Monroe in 1954 but being an old-fashioned Italian, he never liked the idea of his wife being a sex goddess, and he divorced that same year!