Joe DiMaggio

A baseball card of DiMaggio during his tenure with the San Francisco Seals, c. 1933–36

Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, Jr., was an American Major League Baseball center fielder who played his entire MLB career (1936–1951) for the New York Yankees. He was also nicknamed Joltin' Joe and The Yankee Clipper. He was married to Marilyn Monroe.

Quotes about Joe DiMaggio

Alphabetized by author

• I remember Joe DiMaggio's last at-bat in the World Series in 1951; we knew it was going to be his last at-bat. He hit a ball — a double to right-centerfield and pulled up into second base in that elegant way he did. And, I think there were tears in my eyes, I was there that day. And I thought 'That's the last time I'll see him', but he was complete to the end.
  • Roger Angell in Ken Burns' 1994 documentary Baseball, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyEBtPgnSL4&feature=related

• I believe Dom has a little edge. I think he can outfield and outrun Joe. Their throwing is about on a par. I think that if Dom and I could hit like Joe, he wouldn't have anything on us. But Joe really can hit the ball. Man, he sure can. I'd be satisfied to have just one year at bat like him. I call him a busher, but I'd like to be a busher like him.
  • Vince DiMaggio, as quoted in "Vince Di Maggio Recalls Getting Brother Joe a Job" by Ed Rumill, The Christian Science Monitor (August 1, 1944), p. 14

• He knew what the press and the fans and the kids expected of him, and he was always trying to live up to that image. That's why he couldn't be silly in public like I could, or ever be caught without his shirt buttoned or his shoes shined. He knew he was Joe DiMaggio and he knew what that meant to the country.
  • Lefty Grove, http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9506E2DE1E3FF933A25750C0A96F958260

• Joe DiMaggio is the best baseball player I ever saw.
  • Stan Musial, as quoted in "The Scoreboard: private life of Stan Musial" by Les Biederman, in The Pittsburgh Press (May 15, 1955), Sec. 4, p. 3

• Although he was over the hill when I first saw him, I could visualize how good he must have been. Joe DiMaggio was the best all-around ballplayer I ever saw.
  • Jackie Robinson, as quoted in "Here's the Pitch" by Frank Finch, in The Los Angeles Times (June 5, 1958), p. C2

• I never, ever compared myself to him. I thought there never was a greater player in the history of baseball. For me just to be mentioned in the same breath, boy, I always felt like I was two steps below him. I thought I could hit with anybody, but he was in my opinion as good as any that ever played this game. There's only one guy I saw you could mention in the same breath, and that was Willie Mays. I felt that just to have my name mentioned with Joe, it elevated me. I never thought I was ever as good.
  • Ted Williams, as quoted in "He and Williams were two of a kind, an unmatched pair" by Dan Shaughnessy, in The Boston Globe (March 9, 1999)