NFT: Joe DiMaggio's Yankees career began 80 years ago today

I was a kid in Brooklyn. All the ballplayers were accessible then. Jackie Robinson would drive up to the players entrance in a fish tailed caddy with the top down, he'd step out, his wife would slide across the bench seat and he'd walk into the crowd and sign. Gil Hodges would come out for warmups and chat with us (heavily pock-marked face). I had friends who went on knocked on Frank Torre's door and his mother , "frank there's some kids here who want to meet you."
But not DiMaggio, he was on another level and maybe Zeus and Apollo lunched there but no one else did.

And the artist felt it. The lyrical and sadness of the OLD MAN AND THE SEA, he fights his great fish but his mind is on DiMaggio.
And not only Hemingway but the great Paul Simon got it..."where have you gone Joe Dimaggio a nation turns it's lonely eyes for you".
he was talking about a loss of grace.
Yogi talked about it.. DiMaggio was different, on those teams of Hall of Famers, there was quiet and almost reverance when he entered the locker room and god help you if you threw to the wrong base or missed a sign.
They played better ball rather than risk a look.

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It took him 3 tries to get into the hall of fame? What?

In comment 12943498 Nick from Goa said:

Quote:

It took him 3 tries to get into the hall of fame? What?

lol, yeah, I guess it was tougher then ...

In comment 12943498 Nick from Goa said:

Quote:

It took him 3 tries to get into the hall of fame? What?

1953 INDUCTION CLASS
BBWAA inductees Dizzy Dean and Al Simmons were enshrined along with six Veterans Committee selections on July 27, 1953. The Veterans Committee voted in players Chief Bender and Bobby Wallace, executives Ed Barrow and Harry Wright and umpires Tom Connolly and Bill Klem.

1954 INDUCTION CLASS
BBWAA inductees Bill Dickey, Bill Terry and Rabbit Maranville were enshrined on August 9, 1954. Maranville’s plaque was accepted by his widow. Columbia baseball coach Andy Coakley presented a citation in memory of Eddie Collins and Lou Gehrig at the ceremony.

1955 INDUCTION CLASS
One of the larger classes of the time was inducted on July 25, 1955, as the Hall of Fame welcomed BBWAA inductees Joe DiMaggio, Gabby Hartnett, Ted Lyons and Dazzy Vance and Veterans Committee picks Frank “Home Run” Baker and Ray Schalk. In the biggest induction ceremony since 1939, the crowd favorite was easily DiMaggio, according to the New York Times.

Link - ( New Window )

ballot when DiMaggio became eligible. (And by eligible, I mean retired - previously you could vote for active guys, and he got a vote one year, but that rule was then changed). In 1953 there were more than 40 eventual hall of famers on the ballot. As sphinx lists above, Dean and Simmons were the two inductees, and each was on his 9th ballot. Dickey, Terry and Maranville were on their 8th, 13th and 13th respectively. The list goes on with tons of future hall of famers who had been on the ballot before Joe D got there. He simply got stuck waiting behind a bunch of other guys for a few years.
1953 HOF ballot - ( New Window )

He came to the Yankees in 1936 and carried the team to 4 straight world series titles and 5 in his first 6 years. After the war in 6 years he led them to 4 world series titles. Unmatched.
And he only cost them $25,000.

One of those players in any sport, who has stat/stats that are just so mind boggling to comprehend

361 home runs

369 strike-outs

7 times in his career he had more HR's than K's - staggering numbers

Most K's in season was rookie year with 39 in 669 plate appearances

I often forget that he gave up 3 years in his prime to serve in the military (like so many others of the era)