Baseball star Joe DiMaggio, a leading figure in American popular culture both on and off the field, died in Hollywood, Florida, after a battle with lung cancer, on this day in history, March 8. of 1999.
The New York Yankees legend was 84 years old.
“Joltin' Joe” DiMaggio was a nine-time World Series champion, three-time American League Most Valuable Player and, most memorably on the field, hit safely in 56 consecutive games in 1941, an incredible record of consistency that It has never been equaled since.
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DiMaggio died, by some accounts, whispering the name of his lifelong love and ex-wife, also an American idol, Marilyn Monroe.
Others close to him questioned the deathbed claim.
Joe DiMaggio was the son of poor Sicilian immigrants who became one of America's biggest pop culture icons. He won nine World Series in 13 years with the New York Yankees, married Marilyn Monroe in 1954 and has been celebrated with popular hits. (Getty Images)
The National Baseball Hall of Fame has declared DiMaggio a “cultural icon” and “an American hero.”
His Hall of Fame biography says: “He married Hollywood stars Marilyn Monroe and Dorothy Arnold and was immortalized in Paul Simon's hit song 'Mrs. Robinson.'”
He adds: “For a generation, he was the face of Mister Coffee and was considered one of the greatest players to ever play the game.”
“When New York saw itself as the center of the world, he was its model of class.” – Richard Ben Cramer on Joe DiMaggio
Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio was born to Sicilian immigrant parents in Martinez, California, on November 25, 1914.
He made his debut with the Yankees in 1936 and played until 1951, missing three seasons at the height of his career until World War II, when he served as a sergeant in the U.S. Army Air Forces.
His elegant style of play earned him the nickname “Yankee Clipper,” after the luxurious airliners that flew over American skies in the 1930s, just as DiMaggio's career was taking off with the Yankees.
“Coming out of the Great Depression, he was the immigrant kid who made it big,” wrote DiMaggio biographer Richard Ben Cramer.
On January 14, 1954, Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio married. They divorced in October after just 274 days of marriage. (Getty Images)
“Coming back from World War II, he had all the wealth and power that New York aspired to. When New York saw itself as the center of the world, he was its model of class.”
He was the biggest star of the Yankees teams that dominated baseball and sports headlines in America's largest media market during a glamorous era in New York City history.
ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY, JAN. 14, 1954, MARILYN MONROE MARRIED JOE DIMAGGIO
The Bronx Bombers won the American League pennant in 10 of DiMaggio's 13 seasons and won all but one of those 10 World Series appearances.
DiMaggio was a baseball All Star in every season of his career.
“I'll finally get to see Marilyn.” – DiMaggio's disputed last words
He complemented his seemingly effortless play in the field with dominance at the plate.
DiMaggio was a two-time American League batting champion, two-time home run leader and two-time RBI leader.
DiMaggio also bridged dynastic periods in Yankees history, taking the field with figures spanning 65 years of franchise history.
(Original Caption) 06/28/1939: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Joe DiMaggio is pictured as he hit his second home run in the first game of the Yankees' double header against the Philadelphia Athletics. Joe and the other Yankees sluggers made baseball history when they beat eight four players in the first game and five in the second, breaking all existing home run records. Hayes is catching. Acme Photography. (Getty Images)
He won titles early in his career with Lou Gehrig and late in his career with Mickey Mantle and Billy Martin.
Gehrig won his first World Series with Babe Ruth in 1923 and his last with DiMaggio in 1939.
Mantle took his last swing with the Yankees in 1968; Martin returned from his playing career to lead the Yankees to a World Series championship in 1977 and last managed the team in 1988.
“Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio? Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.” —Simon & Garfunkel in “Mrs. Robinson”
Despite his brilliant success on the diamond, DiMaggio is remembered today by many Americans for his romance with the explosive Monroe, a relationship that swept the headlines and gossip pages.
The couple married in January 1954, but divorced in October after only 274 days of marriage.
DiMaggio was reportedly jealous and possessive, lamented her substance abuse, and despised her relationships with other celebrities such as Frank Sinatra and, later, President John F. Kennedy.
He raged on the set of Monroe's famous September 1954 subway grate scene for the film “The Seven Year Itch.” Her dress fluttered provocatively above her head as fans on the street lasciviously applauded the spectacle.
Movie star Marilyn Monroe poses on the railing of the Manhattan subway as the wind lifts her white dress. Photographers captured the moment on camera, which took place on September 16, 1954, during the filming of “Seven Year Itch.” Monroe's husband, Joe DiMaggio, was reportedly upset by the attention his wife received from the crowd. (Bettmann/Getty Images Contributor)
However, by all indications, he adored her for the rest of his life.
“I'll finally get to see Marilyn,” DiMaggio whispered his final words, according to a bedside account by lawyer and confidant Morris Engelberg.
“DiMaggio orchestrated the star's funeral. He kept it private and dignified, prohibiting many Hollywood stars from attending the ceremonies,” writes PBS American Experience.
“In the years that followed, DiMaggio rarely spoke of her. Roses were delivered to her grave twice a week for the next 20 years. DiMaggio never remarried.”
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DiMaggio has been the subject of books, documentaries, and several popular songs.
He is a central figure in the Simon & Garfunkel hit “Mrs. Robinson,” from the seminal 1967 Hollywood production “The Graduate.”
New York Yankees sluggers Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle pose for the camera with their pine bats, 1951. (Stanley Weston Archive/Getty Images)
The song portrays DiMaggio as a heroic icon of an America that many people felt was fading in the 1960s: “Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?” Pablo Simón wrote. “Our nation turns its lonely eyes to you.”
DiMaggio is also celebrated in John Fogerty's 1985 baseball anthem, “Centerfield”; in Billy Joel's 1989 tour of American history “We Didn't Start the Fire”; and in Madonna's 1990 hit “Vogue,” a tribute to the great fashion icons of the 1940s and 1950s.
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“Men like Joe DiMaggio aren't just of their time,” actor and baseball enthusiast Kevin Costner once said. “They are men for all ages.”
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