Author Archive
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Games 52 and 53: He »
Games 52 and 53: July 13, 1941 With 50,387 fans watching, Joe DiMaggio made hitting look easy in the first game of a July 13, 1941 doubleheader with the White Sox. It was the biggest crowd in six years at Comiskey Park. Team owner Charles Comiskey was known as tight with his money. Many believe it was Comiskey’s penchant for thrift that led [...]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Game 51: Did He Get a »
Game 51: July 12, 1941 Dom DiMaggio used to tell the stories of how he sometimes felt like he didn’t exist during his brother Joe’s immortal hitting streak. Most of his interviews were with media members who wanted to know what it was like growing up as Joe DiMaggio’s brother. What tips did Joe give him during a season? What was [...]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Game 33: Yankees Flog »
Game 33: June 20, 1941 On June 20, 1941, the U.S. Air Corps was folded into the Army Air Forces (as infantry or artillery divisions were). It was another presidential step in the preparation for our nation’s entry into World War II. “The Germans are getting their asses kicked in Russia,” Vic Ruppone told childhood friend [...]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Game 32: Watch Out for »
Game 32: June 19, 1941 Warning for the rest of the American League during the summer of 1941: Be afraid. Be very afraid. On June 19, Joe DiMaggio started to get hot. Not that his new Yankee record 31-game hit streak wasn’t “hot,” in and of itself. But Joe had clubbed only one hit in each of the previous five games. The infield [...]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Games 19: Remembering and »
Game 19: June 2, 1941 It was back to work for most Cleveland residents. The crowd of 52,240 of the day before shrank to less than 6,000 for the Monday game. Despite Bob Feller on the mound, that twin bill setback might have hung heavy over the heads of the local fans. Regardless, those in attendance would see a dandy. Sure, Feller won. He ran his [...]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Game 30: A »
Game 30: June 17, 1941 ABC News was still talking about it seven decades later. Sporting News columnists from time to time write about that “single” on June 17, 1941, at Yankee Stadium. The Walrus, a Canadian publication stirred the pot eight years after Joe DiMaggio died in 1999. And Kostya Kennedy’s book 56: Joe DiMaggio and [...]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Game 28: The DiMaggios »
Game 28: June 15, 1941 The elegance and energy of New York was typified by the chic of nightclubs like the Copacabana, 21, the Stork Club and El Morocco. Joe DiMaggio and many of the other Yankees were no strangers to these venues, and the club owners gave them all a king’s treatment once in their doors. But DiMaggio was conflicted. While at [...]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Game 27: Even Feller »
Game 27: June 14, 1941 New York. Home, sweet home. The Big Apple was alive on Saturday, June 14. Still four out in second place, the Yankees were nestled safely in the Bronx for a three-game series with front-running Cleveland. New Yorkers didn’t know what to talk about first: the pennant race, the fact that Bob Feller (13-2) would pitch the [...]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Games 23 & 24: »
Games 23 & 24: June 8, 1941 This was getting to be serious. A 24-game hitting streak was the longest in the league in a couple of years and since it was a New York Yankee writing the script, 12 Gotham-area newspapers were happy to follow along. In San Francisco, the Call-Bulletin had a front-page feature called the DiMag-O-Log. It followed the [...]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Game 10: Watching »
Joe DiMaggio's Streak: Game 10, May 24, 1941 Earl Lewis lived in the Upper West Side of New York City. Just a couple of blocks from the American Museum of Natural History at 79th Street and Central Park West, Lewis’ digs were simple, inexpensive and, besides, he figured something big was in his life. At 21, he wasn’t sure yet, but he [...]