This is a baseball story that may never happen again - a tale of three brothers, each of whom made the All-Star team at least twice! See if you can figure out their identity from the clues in 20 lines of prose.
The Brothers Three
Written by Bill Russo
baby boys were born to Joe-sep,
all athletes, they totaled three.
told to follow their Dad’s step.
Fishing Poles they were given,
but their need was a bat and glove
so runs batted in could be driven.
For baseball was their true love.
The first to arrive at the plate
was Vince who paved the way.
Though not destined to be great
hard work got him 10 years of play.
Along next came the little professor.
For Boston, Domenic spent 11 years
and almost made the hall of fame
with hits and fielding that showed no fears
Then Joe started giving the ball a ride.
He made us forget both Dom and Vince.
56 straight games he hit as the Yankee pride
who became Baseball’s Crowned Prince
Actually the three Ds were first generation Americans - not immigrants. Their dad, Jo-sep, was born across the water but the boys were birthed in the states.
Mama and Papa DiMaggio both became American citizens in the fabulous/war torn 1940s while their sons were soldiering for the States to save the world.
Vince, the oldest brother toiled for five different National League teams during a ten year career that ended in 1946. Like his two brothers he was a Centerfielder.
He spent the most time and had his best seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, belting 21 home runs and knocking in 100 runs in 1941. In the end of season voting, his position matched his homer output, finishing as the 21st top candidate for Most Valuable Player. Vince was chosen for the All Star Team in 1943 and 1944.
Vince started his career with the Boston Braves before moving to the Cincinnati Redlegs two years later. Pittsburgh was his third stop in the Majors and he completed five seasons with the Pirates before his last stand in 1946 when he struggled through 15 games with the New York Giants and six with the Philadelphia Phillies before being downgraded to the Minor Leagues. He continued playing for a few years, progressively sliding down the baseball ladder from AAA to Double A, then B and C. Switching to pitching he ended up winning 14 or 15 games in his final season - for a Class D Ball Club.
I tried to find Vince's salary history but was unable to do so. I checked other players with similar records and found they were paid between four and six thousand per year, so it's fair to assume that's what Vince made. As you'll discover as you read on, his brothers had much larger paychecks.
He got a hit in 56 straight games! The whole country was talking about it. Les Brown and his band had a hit record celebrating Joe and the streak.
The streak was one of the most celebrated events of 1941 - what a year for baseball. It was the very same year that Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox became the very last 400 hitter.
Almost 80 years later both of those streaks are still standing and experts say it's unlikely that either one will be broken.
The streak is Joe's main claim to fame, overshadowing his other accomplishments. Until Aaron Judge's remarkable 2017 season, Joe's 29 home runs in his rookie year set the Yankee record.
He won three MVP awards and usually placed in the top five or 10 players every year. He retired with a 325 batting average, 36th best in the 100 plus years of major league ball. He won two batting crowns and twice led the league in Home Runs. During his 13 years in New York, the team won the World Series 19 times.
For his efforts and his fame, Joe was awarded a contract by the Yankees that made him baseball's first HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLAR MAN. It was a lot of money for the 1949, in fact is was the same salary that President Harry Truman made!
but their need was a bat and glove
so runs batted in could be driven.
For baseball was their true love.
The first to arrive at the plate
was Vince who paved the way.
Though not destined to be great
hard work got him 10 years of play.
Along next came the little professor.
For Boston, Domenic spent 11 years
and almost made the hall of fame
with hits and fielding that showed no fears
Then Joe started giving the ball a ride.
He made us forget both Dom and Vince.
56 straight games he hit as the Yankee pride
who became Baseball’s Crowned Prince
Ladies and Gentlemen: The DiMaggio Brothers
Actually the three Ds were first generation Americans - not immigrants. Their dad, Jo-sep, was born across the water but the boys were birthed in the states.
Mama and Papa DiMaggio both became American citizens in the fabulous/war torn 1940s while their sons were soldiering for the States to save the world.
Vince Dimaggio
Vince DiMaggio 1941 Baseball Card
as listed on Ebay for $75.00
He spent the most time and had his best seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, belting 21 home runs and knocking in 100 runs in 1941. In the end of season voting, his position matched his homer output, finishing as the 21st top candidate for Most Valuable Player. Vince was chosen for the All Star Team in 1943 and 1944.
Vince started his career with the Boston Braves before moving to the Cincinnati Redlegs two years later. Pittsburgh was his third stop in the Majors and he completed five seasons with the Pirates before his last stand in 1946 when he struggled through 15 games with the New York Giants and six with the Philadelphia Phillies before being downgraded to the Minor Leagues. He continued playing for a few years, progressively sliding down the baseball ladder from AAA to Double A, then B and C. Switching to pitching he ended up winning 14 or 15 games in his final season - for a Class D Ball Club.
I tried to find Vince's salary history but was unable to do so. I checked other players with similar records and found they were paid between four and six thousand per year, so it's fair to assume that's what Vince made. As you'll discover as you read on, his brothers had much larger paychecks.
Dom DiMaggio
Domenic's 1950 baseball card
Smaller than his brothers, the bespectacled Domenic affectionately was given the nickname "The Little Professor". He played all 11 years of his major league career in the American League for the Boston Red Sox and finished with a 298 batting average.
Dom had great success in New England. He hit in 34 straight games - a Red Sox record. He was always near 300 in batting average, going over it four times. He led the league twice in runs scored. He topped all players in stolen bases and triples once each. He won many awards and topped the leaderboards in several categories. Baseball historians have speculated that the youngest and smallest DiMaggio would have made the Hall of Fame if he hadn't lost three years to World War Two. Dom's salary which was $5,000 in 1940 peaked at $40,000 by 1950 where it remained until he retired.
Joltin' Joe, the Yankee Clipper
Joe D in 1939
The streak was one of the most celebrated events of 1941 - what a year for baseball. It was the very same year that Ted Williams of the Boston Red Sox became the very last 400 hitter.
Almost 80 years later both of those streaks are still standing and experts say it's unlikely that either one will be broken.
The streak is Joe's main claim to fame, overshadowing his other accomplishments. Until Aaron Judge's remarkable 2017 season, Joe's 29 home runs in his rookie year set the Yankee record.
He won three MVP awards and usually placed in the top five or 10 players every year. He retired with a 325 batting average, 36th best in the 100 plus years of major league ball. He won two batting crowns and twice led the league in Home Runs. During his 13 years in New York, the team won the World Series 19 times.
For his efforts and his fame, Joe was awarded a contract by the Yankees that made him baseball's first HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLAR MAN. It was a lot of money for the 1949, in fact is was the same salary that President Harry Truman made!
Brotherly Love?
Of the 3Ds, it's generally agreed that Dom was the most engaging, friendly and well liked. Vince placed second in the personality department and Joe was a distant third.
Since it was Vince, already an established player, who used his influence to get Joe a spot on a minor league ballclub, you might expect that there would have been a bond between the pair. It was not the case, Joe is reported to have had little to do with his older brother.
As for Vince, his comment on their relationship was " "If I could hit like Joe and he could talk like me, we'd make a helluva guy."
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So ends this little overview of the DiMaggio boys. There actually were nine children born in the DiMaggio household. I tried to find out some information on the six we don't know about, two of whom were boys. If you have any information about them that you'd like to share, email me and I'll post it. My email address is Billrrrrr@yahoo.com
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