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Dom DiMaggio, The Baseball Star Who Lived In The Shadow Of His Brother, Joe
Joltin’ Joe’s younger brother was a star in his own right, but usually played second fiddle- in sports and off the field
Joe DiMaggio embodied American athleticism during his remarkable professional baseball career. Seeming to do just about everything on the field effortlessly (and also off the field- he famously married Marilyn Monroe), he was an idol to countless fans. The sport ran in his family, as he had two brothers, Vince and Dominic (Dom), who played for years in the major leagues. Dom, who wore glasses, looked more like a professor than an athlete, but forged his own stand-out legacy. Unfortunately, he spent much of his life in the shadow of Joe, rarely getting appropriate credit for his own achievements.
The son of a San Francisco fisherman, Joe DiMaggio played a total of 13 seasons with the vaunted New York Yankees (1936–1942; 1946–1951), missing three full years during World War II because of military service. Remarkably, he was an All Star in every season he played, winning three MVP awards, and receiving MVP votes in all but his final season. This was in large part because he was the star on 10 World Series teams, including nine that won championships. The right-handed hitter batted a combined .325 in his career (including two batting titles) with 346 home runs and 1,537 RBIs. His 56-game hitting streak in 1941 remains an all-time record. He sailed into the Hall of Fame in 1955 on his first ballot.
Dom, who was two and a half years younger than Joe, was also significantly smaller, coming in at five inches and 25 pounds less than his more famous sibling. He also differed from his brother in that he spent his entire 11-year big league career (1940- 1942; 1946–1953) with the Yankees’ hated rival, the Boston Red Sox. Like Joe, Dom missed three full seasons while he served in World War II.
While Joe was large, powerful and graceful, Dom was smaller and more pugnacious. He posted great numbers, but just in different ways. Also an outfielder, the right-handed hitter batted a combined .298 with 87 home runs and 618 RBIs. He rapped out 1,680 hits, while scoring 1,046 runs (leading the American League twice). A seven-time All Star, he also…
