Joseph Paul Dimaggio was one of the greatest baseball players ever. He is famous for his fifty-six game hitting streak. His parents were born in Sicily and they later moved to San Francisco. His Dad was a fisherman. His brothers, Vincent Paul and Dominic Paul, were also Major League outfielders. When Joe was young his brothers influenced him to play baseball. He became so famous that he had songs written about him. One was named Jolting Joe Dimaggio. His name was also in the song, Mrs. Robinson, written by Simon and Garfunkel.
In 1939 he married actress, Dorothy Arnold. They had a child in 1939. They were divorced in 1944. His second wife was also an actress. Her name was Marilyn Monroe. The marriage lasted for less than a year. Marilyn and Joe were very good friends even after the divorce. When she died he arranged for roses to be sent to the cemetery twice every week for twenty years.
When Joe was seventeen he started playing in Minors for the San Francisco Seals. The New York Yankees bought him for twenty-five thousand dollars. He was nineteen years old when he started playing for the Yankees. He had two nicknames. One was Jolting Joe and the other was the Yankee Clipper. During his career the Yankees won ten championships, and nine of them were while he was playing. He retired at age thirty-seven. He was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1955. The Yankees retired his number. After retirement he was the vice president for the Oakland Athletics. He died in 1999.
See What ESPN.com has about Joe
ReiDenBauch, Lowell. Cooperstown Where Baseball Lives Forever. St. Louis: Sporting News, 1983
Appel, Martin. Baseball Legends-Joe Dimaggio. New York City: Chelesa House Publishers, 1990
Anderson, Sparky. The Baseball Anthology. Harry N Abrams Inc. Publishers, 1994
