Game 20, June 3, 1941. On the night of June 2, 1941, a 19-game hitting streak meant nothing to Joe DiMaggio. Closing in on first place, the New York Yankees could not care less. Now in Detroit, at the Book-Cadillac Hotel, something was very wrong. Kostya Kennedy’s book 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic […]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Game 21: Melancholy Yankees Rained Out, Then Lose
Game 21, June 5, 1941. It poured on June 4, in Detroit—the day New York City held services for the great Lou Gehrig. Bill Dickey, Joe McCarthy and Bill “Bojangles” Robinson were among his pallbearers. It almost felt appropriate that the game with Detroit was rained out, but hanging around the hotel rather than playing […]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Game 22: Yankees Feast in St. Louis Series
Game 22: June 7, 1941 Now in St. Louis for a three-game series, the Yankees attracted a dismal Saturday “crowd” on June 7. Only 2,394 fans showed up. Despite The Streak. St. Louis was a Cardinals’ town—and besides, old Sportsman’s Park was a dump. As the Yankees prepared for their first game, they bumped into […]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Games 23 & 24: DiMaggio on Fire as NY Heads Home
Games 23 & 24: June 8, 1941 This was getting to be serious. A 24-game hitting streak was the longest in the league in a couple of years and since it was a New York Yankee writing the script, 12 Gotham-area newspapers were happy to follow along. In San Francisco, the Call-Bulletin had a front-page […]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Game 25: Streak Nearly Ends Until Joe Comes Up Safe
Game 25: June 10, 1941 On June 9, the Yankees made a brief stop in Kansas City for an exhibition game (yes, Joe got a hit) and continued on to Chicago for what was to be a three-game series. That “off” day, Time magazine hit the newsstands with Benito Mussolini on its cover. Life magazine […]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Game 26: DiMaggio Magic Produces a Come-From-Behind Win
Game 26, June 12, 1941 Rain poured all day on June 11, and Joe DiMaggio’s shot at No. 26 in a row would have to wait a day. Ball players could think of worse things than an idle 24 hours in Chicago. They knew all the great restaurants, movie houses, museums and diversions better left […]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Game 27: Even Feller Couldn’t Hold Joe Down
Game 27: June 14, 1941 New York. Home, sweet home. The Big Apple was alive on Saturday, June 14. Still four out in second place, the Yankees were nestled safely in the Bronx for a three-game series with front-running Cleveland. New Yorkers didn’t know what to talk about first: the pennant race, the fact that […]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Game 28: The DiMaggios Hit the Town
Game 28: June 15, 1941 The elegance and energy of New York was typified by the chic of nightclubs like the Copacabana, 21, the Stork Club and El Morocco. Joe DiMaggio and many of the other Yankees were no strangers to these venues, and the club owners gave them all a king’s treatment once in […]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Game 29: Fans Witness DiMaggio’s Yankee Record-Tying Hit
Game 29: June 16, 1941 Understandably, the Monday, June 16 game with Cleveland drew only 12,552 fans that afternoon. People had to go back to work. Rain also contributed to the small throng. However, those in attendance were on hand for a special treat. The Yankee record for games in which a player had consecutively […]
Joe DiMaggio’s Streak, Game 30: A “Hit” for the Ages Eclipses Yankee Mark
Game 30: June 17, 1941 ABC News was still talking about it seven decades later. Sporting News columnists from time to time write about that “single” on June 17, 1941, at Yankee Stadium. The Walrus, a Canadian publication stirred the pot eight years after Joe DiMaggio died in 1999. And Kostya Kennedy’s book 56: Joe […]