Dom DiMaggio
Dom DiMaggio | ||
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Dominic Paul DiMaggio (February 12, 1917 – May 8, 2009), nicknamed "the Little Professor", was an American Major League Baseball center fielder. He played his entire 11-year baseball career for the Boston Red Sox (1940–1953). DiMaggio was the youngest of three brothers who each became major league center fielders, the others being Joe and Vince.
Biography
An effective leadoff hitter, DiMaggio batted .300 four times and led the American League in runs twice and in triples and stolen bases once each. He also led AL center fielders in assists three times and in putouts and double plays twice each; he tied a league record by recording 400 putouts four times, and his 1948 totals of 503 putouts and 526 total chances stood as AL records for nearly 30 years. DiMaggio's 1,338 games in center field ranked eighth in AL history at his retirement. His 34-game hitting streak in 1949 remains a record for the major-league Red Sox.[1]
DiMaggio was the youngest of three brothers who grew up in North Beach, San Francisco and who had each become major league center fielders.[2] Joe was a star with the rival New York Yankees, and Vince played for five National League teams. The youngest of nine children born to Sicilian immigrants, Dom's small stature (5'9") and eyeglasses earned him the nickname "The Little Professor."[3]
DiMaggio broke into the minor leagues in 1937 with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League. For the 1939 season, DiMaggio recorded a .360 batting average.[4] Following this season, the Boston Red Sox purchased DiMaggio's contract for $75,000.[5] In his 1940 rookie season, he hit .301, becoming part of a .300-hitting outfield with Ted Williams and Doc Cramer. In both 1941 and 1942 he scored over 100 runs to finish third in the AL, and was among the league's top ten players in doubles and steals; he was named an All-Star both years.
After missing three years serving in the
After a disappointing offensive year in 1947, DiMaggio rebounded in 1948 to score 127 runs (second in the AL) with career highs in doubles (40),
In 1950, DiMaggio led the AL in runs (131), triples (11) and stolen bases (15) while hitting a career-high .328. On June 30, he and Joe hit home runs while playing against one another, becoming the fourth pair of brothers to homer in the same game. Dom's stolen base total of 15 is the lowest stolen base total to lead either of the Major Leagues in a single season.[6] In August of that year, he had 53 base hits, tying a club record with teammate Johnny Pesky.
DiMaggio again led the league in runs (113) in 1951, when he had a 27-game hitting streak from May 12 to June 7. He retired in May 1953, after appearing in only three games that year as a pinch hitter, with a .298 batting average, 1680 hits, 308 doubles, 57 triples, 87 home runs, 1046 runs and 618 RBI in 1399 games. DiMaggio was selected an All-Star seven times (1941–42, 1946, 1949–52). His career average of 2.9 chances per game remains the record for AL outfielders.[7]
DiMaggio enjoyed a close friendship with teammates Ted Williams, Bobby Doerr, and Johnny Pesky, which was chronicled in David Halberstam's book The Teammates. After retiring, he became a plastics manufacturer in New England. He and his wife Emily, whom he married in 1948, had two sons (Paul and Peter), a daughter (Emily), and several grandchildren (Alex, Andrew, Charlotte, Margel, Peter, and Anna).[8]
In 1976, sportswriter Harry Stein published an article called the "All-Time All-Star Argument Starter" in Esquire magazine, consisting of five ethnic baseball teams; Dom DiMaggio was the left fielder on Stein's Italian team.[9]
Writer David Halberstam described Dom as "probably the most underrated player of his day."[10]
Life after baseball
After his retirement from professional baseball in 1953, DiMaggio formed the American Latex Fiber Corporation, which produced padding for items such as automobile seats and furniture. DiMaggio would eventually purchase an automotive supply firm and would merge it with American Latex Fiber Corporation to form the Delaware Valley Corporation.[11]
In 1959, DiMaggio joined forces with nine other New Englanders, led by
After the death of Red Sox owner Tom Yawkey in July 1976, DiMaggio was a part of a group which included his brother Joe, Red Sox General Manager Dick O'Connell, San Francisco Mayor Joseph Alioto, and insurance magnate Bernard Baldwin, which sought to obtain ownership of the Red Sox. The attempt fell through after Tom Yawkey's widow, Jean Yawkey, chose to retain ownership.[14]
In 1979, DiMaggio was named a member of the board of trustees at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire.[15] He served under college president Fr. Jonathan DeFelice and helped lead Saint Anselm College through four decades of expansion. DiMaggio was awarded an honorary degree by the college in 1981, and his wife Emily received one in 1999.[15]
DiMaggio was inducted into the Boston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1995.[16]
Military service
After the 1942 season, DiMaggio enlisted in the United States Navy with initial service at Naval Station Treasure Island in San Francisco, California.[17] He deployed to Australia and the Philippines during World War II. While stationed in Australia, he and Phil Rizzuto flew to Honolulu to play in the 1944 Army–Navy World Series.[18][19] He also played for the Norfolk Naval Training Station team.[20] He was discharged in 1945 as a chief petty officer.
Death
DiMaggio died on May 8, 2009, at his home in Marion, Massachusetts.[21] He was 92 years old and had been suffering from pneumonia.[22] His requiem mass was celebrated by his friend Fr. Jonathan DeFelice at St. Paul's Catholic Church in Wellesley, Massachusetts.[15]
See also
- Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
- List of Boston Red Sox team records
- List of Major League Baseball career runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual runs scored leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual stolen base leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual triples leaders
- List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise
References
- ^ Couture, Jon (August 14, 2021). "Worcester's Yairo Muñoz runs hit streak to 35 games, breaking a 70-year-old Red Sox record". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
- ^ Press, Mark Pratt/Associated (May 8, 2009). "Former Red Sox outfielder Dom DiMaggio dies". MetroWest Daily News. Archived from the original on April 3, 2024. Retrieved April 3, 2024.
- ^ "Dom DiMaggio Dies at 92; Played in His Brother's Shadow", May 8, 2009, New York Times
- ISBN 0-7385-2985-0.
- ISBN 9781608939909.
- ISBN 0-88365-785-6..
- ^ Ostler, Scott (September 5, 2021). "It's time for Dom DiMaggio to step out of the shadows and into Hall of Fame spotlight". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved April 19, 2023.
- ^ "Red Sox great Dom DiMaggio dies".
- ^ Stein, Harry. "All-Time All-Star Argument Starter". Esquire.
- ^ "Former Red Sox star Dom DiMaggio dies at 92". The Boston Globe. May 8, 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-8032-1705-8.
- ISBN 978-0-689-10992-8.
- ISBN 978-1-328-91740-9.
- ISBN 978-1-62937-050-7.
- ^ a b c Leblanc, Barbara (May 8, 2009). "Dom DiMaggio, Trustee Emeritus, Dies at Age 92". anselm.edu. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
- ^ "Red Sox Hall of Fame | Boston Red Sox". MLB.com. Retrieved April 24, 2023.
- ^ Hirshberg, Al and McKenney, Joe. Tenth Series of Famous American Athletes of Today, L. C. Page and Company, Boston, August 1947, page 61.
- ^ Bedingfield, Gary. "Service Games in the Pacific 1944", Baseball in Wartime website, 2013. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- ISBN 9781595581952.
- ^ Donnelly, Marea. "The other DiMaggio, was an eclipsed talent called The Professor", The Daily Telegraph, February 11, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2020.
- ^ "Former Red Sox great Dom DiMaggio dies at 92". Associated Press. May 8, 2009.
- ^ "Former Red Sox star Dom DiMaggio dies at 92".
Further reading
- 2 July 2001 Sports Illustrated article Archived October 11, 2008
- AP Obituary in The Boston Globe
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet
- Dom DiMaggio at the SABR Baseball Biography Project
- Dom DiMaggio at IMDb
- Dom DiMaggio at Find a Grave