Up on the blog today, my special insert for my "Whole Nine: Series 2" set released a few months ago, this being a fun 1951 Topps Blue-Back Joe DiMaggio card:
Really fun to get this in that set as a special little bonus, hand-cutting each one by hand but well worth the effort!
As
we all know the "Yankee Clipper" never did get on a Topps card as his
career was wrapping up just as Topps was getting into the card market in
the early-50s.
DiMaggio
spent his late-teens putting up softball type numbers with the San
Francisco Seals between 1932 and 1935 before taking the Majors by storm.
Over that time in the Minors he hit as high as .398 (1935), collecting 270 hits, with a staggering 456 total bases!
The
kid was giving everyone a glimpse of what to expect when he reached the
Major Leagues in 1936, instantly becoming one of the greatest to put on
a Big League uniform.
"Joltin' Joe" put together a legendary career
that eventually made him an American Icon, taking home three league MVP Awards,
hitting safely in a record 56 straight games in 1941 and being a part of
a staggering NINE World Champion teams between 1936 and 1951.
If
not for his military service, losing three years during his prime
between 1943 and 1945, his already lofty numbers would have been even
better.
One of my favorite career stats for the guy? Let's
admire his incredible feat of hitting 361 home runs while striking out
only 369 times over his Big League tenure.
Now, while I
certainly don't think he was the game's "greatest living ballplayer" as
they voted him later on, the man was definitely up there, especially
capturing the nation's attention the way he did.
A true legend.