Joe DiMaggio

Wore #9 during the first half of his rookie year (1936) before being switched to #5. #9 was later given to Roger Maris, in whose honor the Yankees retired it in 1984.

American League MVP (1939, 1941, 1947).

Holds the Major League Baseball record of hitting safely in 56 consecutive games (1941).

Les Brown's hit song "Joltin' Joe DiMaggio" of the early forties was a tribute to DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak of 1941.

The only recorded instance of DiMaggio exhibiting any emotion on the field was during the 1947 World Series. He kicked the dirt after Al Gionfriddo's amazing catch of an otherwise home run.

Auction of over 1,000 DiMaggio's personal possessions held by his son's adopted daughters: 2,000th hit baseball ($29,900); 1947 MVP Award ($281,750); game-worn 1951 World Series uniform ($195,500); Hall of Fame ring ($69,000); photo Marilyn Monroe autographed "I love you Joe" ($80,500); her passport ($115,000); their marriage certificate ($23,000). The event netted $4.1 million. [19-20 May 2006]

Was born in a two-room dock-side house (destroyed by fire in 1948) and delivered by a midwife, identified on his birth certificate only as Mrs. J. Pico, at approximately 7:00 AM PST.

Became the 1st baseball player to sign a contract for $100,000 ($70,000 base salary + bonuses). In 1950 and 1951, he signed contracts for $100,000 firm. [7 February 1949]

Was sued by first wife Dorothy Arnold in June 1952 to get full custody of their son, claiming his now-girlfriend Marilyn Monroe posed a threat to the boy's morals. Suit was dismissed in February 1953.

Marilyn Monroe won an interlocutory decree from DiMaggio on 27 October 1954, but, under California law, the divorce was not finalized until exactly 1 year later.

Inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame, 1955. Played for the American League's New York Yankees, 1936-1951 (except for military service, 1943-1945).

Became the subject of death threats while dating Myrna Fahey in 1964. The FBI determined the threats came from a patient at Agnew Mental Hospital in San Francisco who could not bear to see DiMaggio with anyone other than Marilyn Monroe.

Executive Vice-President and batting instructor for the Oakland A's (1968 - 1969)

Named the Greatest Living Player in a 1969 poll to celebrate baseball's 100th anniversary.

First athlete to be awarded The Presidential Medal of Freedom [10 January 1977]

Vice-President of the Baltimore Orioles (1979 - 1988)

Portrayed by Frank Converse in Marilyn: The Untold Story (1980) (TV), John Diehl in The Rat Pack (1998) (TV), Peter Dobson in Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996) (TV), Sal Landi in Marilyn and Me (1991) (TV), Bill Murray in "SCTV Network 90" (1981), and Scott Bakula in the 1983 Broadway musical "Marilyn".

Referenced in: "South Pacific" song "Bloody Mary"; Raymond Chandler's novel "Farewell, My Lovely"; Woody Guthrie's song "DiMaggio Done It"; Ernest Hemingway's novel "The Old Man and the Sea"; _"Seinfeld" (1990)_ (qav) episode "The Note"; "The Simpsons" (1989) episode "'Tis the Fifteenth Season", and Boobs in the Woods (1950).

The Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital opened, for which DiMaggio raised over $4,000,000. [error] was taken there after he was rescued off the coast of Miami. [17 September 1992]

Diamond and platinum "eternity ring" DiMaggio gave to Marilyn Monroe after their marriage was auctioned by Christie's for $772,500. [27 October 1999]

A monument was dedicated to him in Yankee Stadium on April 25, 1999

Wanted no money for his cameo in The First of May (1999), but SAG rules dictated he had to accept the minimum salary of $250 per day.

While accepting the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1999 Golden Globes, Jack Nicholson noted that his first day of work as a film actor was 5 May 1955, which he took as a good omen as "5" was the jersey number of his boyhood idol, DiMaggio.

Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 161-163. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Linked to Marian McKnight, Lee Meriwether, Liz Renay, Cleo Moore, Marlene Dietrich, Morgan Fairchild, Dixie Evans, Gloria DeHaven, Rita Gam, and Elizabeth Vargas. But he never publicly confirmed any involvement with any woman. McKnight told an interviewer in 2005 that she was never romantically involved with DiMaggio.