1951 Back-O'-The-Card: Joe DiMaggio

"Born in California, November 25, 1914, Joe signed with San Francisco in the Pacific Coast League in 1932. He compiled a batting average of .398 in 1935 and came to New York. Joe was the most sensational rookie of 1936 and played in the last World's Series when his batting average was .346.

He will make up for some of the color lost when Babe Ruth retired. Joe bats and throws right-handed, his height is 6'2" and his weight is 195 pounds."

-1937 O-Pee-Chee Batter Ups No. 118

"Joe began his professional baseball career with the San Francisco club in 1932. He entered the majors in 1936 with the New York Yankees with whom he is now playing."

-1938 Goudey Heads-Up No. 250

"Joe DiMaggio, regarded as the greatest outfielder in baseball today, began his baseball career as a shortstop with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League in 1932. Switching to the outfield the next year saw him in action in 187 games, getting a batting average of .340. The following year for San Francisco he hit .341 and in 1935 hit .398.

He joined the Yankees in 1936 as an outfielder for whom he hit .323 (.346 in the World Series), getting 206 hits in 138 games- a feat which only 13 other first-year men have ever been able to do. In 1937 he was crowned the home run king of the American League, with 46, led the league in runs scored, with 151, and led the league in total bases, with 418.

Joe has been selected as a center fielder in three All-Star Games, and in 1938 was selected by the largest number of votes, 241 out of a possible 249. He also received 106 votes for the Most Valuable Player award the same year. His three-year major league record shows 615 hits in 434 games for a batting average of .331."

-1939 Play Ball No. 26

"They call Joe DiMaggio 'The Yankee Clipper' and he certainly lived up to his nickname last year. Experts are comparing Joe to outfielders like Cobb and Speaker. 

Without a doubt, he was the outstanding fly-chaser in the American League last year. It appeared most of the season that DiMaggio might finish with a .400 batting mark, but he slipped to .381, still good enough for the league batting crown. He was second in runs-batted-in with 126 and clouted 30 home runs.

In the World Series against the Cincinnati Reds, Joe batted .313, getting four singles and a home run. His only hit in the All-Star Game was a home run.

Joe holds numerous batting records, but one record he is most proud of is being the only player to participate in four World's Series during his first four major league years."

-1940 Play Ball No. 1

"The Yankees, after four successive pennants, fell to third place last year, but Joe DiMaggio, the Yankee Clipper, kept right on going. For the second straight year, the American League batting title went to DiMaggio, this time with an average of .352. The brilliant Yankee, whose fielding ability is as great as his batting, drove in 133 runs and hit 31 home runs.

In five years with the Yankees, Joe displays a lifetime batting average of .343, with 691 runs batted in. He has played in every one of the last five All-Star Games."

-1941 Play Ball No. 71

"Joltin' Joe came to the Yankees from the Pacific Coast League in 1936 and has been the bright star of baseball ever since. He is considered by experts as the finest player in both leagues and not without cause. Joe has played in six World Series. His 1942 batting average was .305."

-1943 M.P. & Co.

IT TOOK FOUR MEN TO STOP JOE DIMAGGIO'S BAT STREAK

"No individual batting performance has ever equalled in drama and thrills the amazing 56-game batting streak of Joe DiMaggio in 1941. And it took four men, two pitchers and two infielders, to snap the string of hitting in consecutive games which set a new major league record.

In Cleveland, June 17 in the first inning, Ken Keltner made a sensational backhand stop. In the fourth, DiMaggio was walked- not intentionally- by Al Smith. In the seventh, Keltner again made a brilliant catch.

And then came the game's most dramatic moment- DiMaggio's last trip to the plate in the eighth. Jim Bagby had replaced Smith for the Indians. There was one out and the bases were loaded. The count was two balls and one strike when DiMaggio connected. The ball blazed on the ground to Lou Boudreau who made a great stop and turned the ball into a double play. The greatest batting streak in major league history was over."

-1948 Swell Sport Thrills No. 15

"Joe smashed out 39 home runs (tops) and 190 hits for a .320 average last season. He has a lifetime bat mark of .330.

He topped the American League in hitting in 1939 (.381) and 1940 (.352). Joe holds the major league record of hitting safely in 56 consecutive games- from May 15, 1941 through July 16, 1941- finally being stopped by Al Smith and Jim Bagby of Cleveland."

-1949 Leaf No. 1

Outfield, New York Yankees

Member of the 1950 New York Yankees World Champions
Born Martinez, California November 25, 1914
Height 6-2, Weight 200
Bats Right, Throws Right
1950 Hit .301 in 139 Games

-1951 Berk-Ross No. 2-5 (Berk-Ross Inc.)

Another outstanding year for the Yankee Clipper.
Playing for his eighth World Champion and ninth pennant winner, Joe earned his 12th All-Star selection in 12 seasons. His .301 average, 32 home runs and 122 RBIs placed him ninth in the MVP voting.
Joe's .308 World Series average included a round-tripper off Robin Roberts in the 10th inning of Game 2 that would give the Yankees a commanding two-game lead en route to a sweep of Philadelphia. Joe had helped the Yankee cause with his glove in the sixth inning of that game with an outstanding catch of a 400-foot drive to center by Del Ennis.