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Joe DiMaggio extends his streak to 56 games!
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Joe DiMaggio’s 56-Game Hitting Streak Photo Gallery
Click on any image below to start Photo Gallery:
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- Newspaper account the day after the streak ends
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- Joe with Frank Sinatra
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- Joe with first wife Dorothy Arnold
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- Kidding around with Ted Williams
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- Kissing the ball after his streak reached 44
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- Joe slides into home
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- Joe signing autographs
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- Joe kisses the bat he used during the streak
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- Can’t mention Joe DiMaggio without at least one more purely gratuitous photo of his glitzy wife, Marilyn Monroe.
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- I think you’ll all agree with me that Joe DiMaggio looks better in a baseball uniform than he does in fishing attire!
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- The powerful batting stroke of Joe DiMaggio, 1941. A thing of beauty!
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- DiMaggio celebrates with teammates on July 2, 1941 after breaking Wee Willie Keeler’s record of hitting in 44 consecutive games. Looks like Red Ruffing on the left and Tommy Henrich on the right.
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- Old-Time Baseball Photos DiMaggio scores on July 16, 1941 against the Cleveland Indians. He had three hits to expand his hitting streak to 56 games. The catcher is Gene Desautes and the umpire is Ernie Stewart.
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- Manager Joe McCarthy congratulates Joe DiMaggio after his 56-game hitting streak ended, July 17, 1941. I can make out Joe Gordon on the left, Art Fletcher behind DiMaggio, Buddy Rosar in catcher’s gear, and probably Earle Combs behind McCarthy.
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- Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams before a doubleheader at Yankee Stadium on July 1, 1941. These two great stars had the baseball world buzzing n 1941.
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- Joe DiMaggio extends his streak to 56 games!
Joe DiMaggio’s 56-game streak Comes to An End 75 Years Ago: July 17,1941
“…It’s over thirty years later and this guy comes up to me and says he was that cab driver who drove me to the park on July 17, 1941. He apologized for telling me in the cab ride that he thought the streak would end that day if I didn’t get a hit the first time up. He was serious. I felt awful. He might have been spending his whole life thinking he had jinxed me. But I told him he hadn’t. My number was up.” – Joe DiMaggio
1941 was one of the most notable years in baseball history: It was the last, and possibly the greatest, year of baseball’s Golden Age before World War II depleted the major league rosters; Ted Williams hit .406 that year, the last player to hit over .400; the great Lou Gehrig passed away on June 2; the Dodgers won their first pennant since 1920; but, without doubt, the crowning event that will always mark 1941 as a special year in baseball history was Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio’s amazing 56-game hitting streak.
While DiMaggio was no stranger to being the star of an always impressive Yankee team, 1941 was even more special than usual. “The streak,” as it has come to be known, added to the legend of the great DiMaggio and propelled him permanently into American folk lore. It began innocently enough on May 15, 1941. On that day, Joltin’ Joe went 1-4 with a RBI against Eddie Smith and the Chicago White Sox. From that day until July 16, an amazing 56 games later, DiMaggio hit safely in every game, setting a record that stands as one of the greatest achievements in baseball history. On July 17, 75 years ago today, third baseman Ken Keltner made two terrific back handed stops to rob DiMaggio of two hits, ending the streak.
DiMaggio hit .409 in 223 at-bats during the streak with 91 hits including 56 runs scored, 55 RBIs, 16 doubles, 15 home runs, and four triples. He had 160 total bases. Even more remarkable, he struck out only seven times. DiMaggio had propelled the Yankees to a 41-13 record for a stunning .759 percentage. The day after it ended, he started another one against Bob Feller that lasted 16 games, with the Yankees winning 14. Over the two streaks, DiMaggio batted safely in 72 of 73 games. From May 2, he had been on base in 83 consecutive games. DiMaggio had pulled his team out of an early season slump and led them to the pennant 17 games ahead of the second place Red Sox, and to a World Series championship.
And how about the season that Joe D put together! He hit .357 that year, and led the league with 125 RBIs and 348 total bases. He banged out 193 hits, with 30 home runs, 122 runs, 43 doubles, 11 triples, and only 13 strikeouts the entire year. He also compiled an unheard-of .440 on-base percentage and .643 slugging average. DiMaggio won the Most Valuable Player Award, beating out Williams by 291-254 in voting by the Baseball Writers’ Association of America.
We may never see his likes again!
-Gary Livacari
Photo Credits: The New York Yankees Illustrated History; and Public Domain
Information Edited from the same source; and from Baseball Almanac article on Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak: http://www.baseball-almanac.com/feats/feats3.shtml; and from the Joe DiMaggio Wikipedia page.
-Gary Livacari
Subscribe to my blog for automatic updates and Free Bonus Reports: “Memorable World Series Moments” and “The Handy Dandy World Series Reference Guide.”
