“Little Professor” Dom DiMaggio, 92, Has Died

“Run rings around him”

When it came to the baseball-playing DiMaggio brothers, conventional wisdom (and I believe Casey Stengel) stated that Joe DiMaggio was the best hitter, Vince DiMaggio was the best opera singer and Dom DiMaggio was the best fielder. Vincent didn’t have the same Major League success as Joe and Dominic – and he may have been a good singer – but he didn’t make it to the Met. Does that mean he could have used personal loans and debt consolidation at some point, if these things had existed during his lifetime? I don’t know.

But Casey Stengel did once say that Dom DiMaggio could “run rings around” brother Joe DiMaggio in center field. That’s high praise, considering the skills of Joe, an American icon who was once married to Marilyn Monroe.

Now, the three brothers are at rest in all but our memories, a place where the game never ends. MLB.com reports that Dom DiMaggio, a seven-time All-Star for the Red Sox and the youngest of the three DiMaggio brothers who played in the Major Leagues, has died at the age 92. Dominic expired in his Marion, Massachusetts home. His family was with him. He is survived by his wife, three children and six grandchildren.

He could pick it and hit it

Known as the “Little Professor” because of his eyeglasses and smallish frame, DiMaggio played for the Boston Red Sox from 1940-53, missing three seasons while serving in World War II. A center fielder with a knack for positioning and tracking down fly balls, DiMaggio was also an accomplished offensive player. He led the American League two times in runs scored (131 in 1950 and 113 in 1951) and also led the AL with 11 triples and 15 stolen bases in 1950. He he .328 that year, a career-high.

Other notable playing accomplishments of Dom DiMaggio include a 34-game hitting streak, which remains a Boston Red Sox record and brought him more than halfway to brother Joe DiMaggio’s consecutive game hit-streak record of 56. Dom DiMaggio also played in one World Series, going 7-for-27 (.259). His eighth-inning double in Game 7 against the St. Louis Cardinals tied the score in that game.

A good man, a successful man

In his 2003 book “The Teammates: A Portrait of a Friendship,” Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Halberstam gives a warm account of the relationship between Boston Red Sox teammates Dom DiMaggio, shortstop Johnny Pesky, second baseman Bobby Doerr and left fielder Ted Williams. Despite the personalities, the difficulties they had getting past the New York Yankees in the standings and the World War II and Korean War years that brought them to the brink, their friendship endured. They remained in touch for six decades.

After his playing career, DiMaggio was successful in business. He started a company that manufactured upholstery and carpeting for automobiles, and he ran that company until his retirement in 1983. He may have even been in the position to give personal loans to those in need. His philanthropic spirit spurred him to give to many causes, including medical and education institutions. Of note for football fans, and he also helped found the AFL franchise that eventually became the New England Patriots. Considering the success that franchise has had in the NFL, it seems unlikely that their management has had to concern themselves too much with debt consolidation.

“Graceful, elegant and wise”

“Dominic DiMaggio was one of the most successful players of his generation in his post-baseball life,” Halberstam wrote. “He had become over the years a man of means, graceful, elegant, and wise.”

In the classic Paul Simon song “Mrs. Robinson,” the singer asks, “Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio?” Perhaps he’s at the ballpark, watching his brother Dom DiMaggio track down a towering drive.

Can of corn… he’s got it.

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