Joe DiMaggio

1. The Impact of Joe's Celebrity: In the book, DiMaggio: Setting the Record Straight, Morris Engelberg and Marv Schneider write about the power of Joe’s celebrity: “Turning DiMaggio into a moneymaking machine was not terribly difficult. His name and image were golden marketing tools. The Bowery and Mr. Coffee soon learned that. What astounded me was that Joe hadn’t realized this. ” (p. 109) Joe’s modesty prevented him from seeing his own celebrity status, yet the impact could not be denied. In the 1970s, Joe was the spokesman for Mr. Coffee and continued to be the face for the electric coffee makers for more than twenty years. In addition, Joe spent twenty years as spokesman for The Bowery Savings Bank. Joe’s ability to put his mark on American culture was proven when he signed 1,941 bats for nearly $4 million years later. Engelberg and Schneider wrote, “The power of Joe’s signature as a moneymaker was spoken of in awe within the memorabilia industry.”

2. The Celebrity: The last thing Joe would identify as is a celebrity, he is way larger than that. His never duplicated 56-game hitting streak that inspired a nation during rugged times is what made him so popular. Everyone wanted to know Joe DiMaggio. The things Joe did weren't just for himself but for everyone around him. His rags-to-riches story reveals a man with determination, perseverance and gracefulness on and off the playing field. The celebrity status didn’t come from “The Streak” alone; because throughout his life, when tested, Joe did the right thing. The type of person he was is what made him an American icon.

3. Marriages: In January 1937, while on the set of Manhattan Merry Go-round Joe met Dorothy Arnold and from there they married at St. Peter and Paul Church in North Beach. They had one son together, Joseph Paul DiMaggio (born October 23) but sadly they did not stay together. Later on, one of Joe's friends set him up on a dinner date with (at the time) rising star, Marilyn Monroe. Joe and Marilyn had an 18-month courtship and then marriage on January 14, 1954 at San Francisco’s City Hall. They sadly had to many differences and divorced less than a year after their wedding day. Though, even after Marilyn remarried when she was having difficulties she'd go to Joe for help because he was devoted, loving and dependable. The couple was getting back together before her death on August 5, 1962. Joe’s marriage to Marilyn was his last and left an indelible mark on his life. After her death he arranged that for twenty years a dozen red roses would be delivered three times a week for her at her grave. Joe loved Marilyn so much that his last words were, "I'll finally get to see Marilyn."

4. http://cdn2.vox-cdn.com/assets/4412845/Yogi.gif

5. http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2014-01-14-MARILYNMONROEWEDDING_joedim.jpg

6. http://www.joedimaggio.com/ http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/story?id=100802 http://www.notable-quotes.com/d/dimaggio_joe.html

7. Childhood: Joe, or Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio, was born to Rosalie and Giuseppe DiMaggio, a pair of Sicilian immigrants on November 25, 1914. From a family of fisherman, his preference for anything but did not go over well with his father. To escape, Joe’s brothers would go to the local sandlots. Joe had his first baseball experience there, at the age of 10. While baseball itself wasn’t appealing to him, it was better than the boat. His father had much disdain towards the sport, but once he stopped attempting to get Joe away from baseball, he lost interest himself at age 14 and sold newspapers. It was his brother that encouraged Joe to take baseball more seriously and use it as a source of income.

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8. Armed Forces: Eventually Joe became an American icon and earned a place in history with his natural grace. After working for the Yankees for years he decided to join the armed forces, playing baseball for the military league. Joe asked for no special treatment when he entered, as he did it to entertain the traditional troops and keep morale high.

9. "If you keep thinking about what you want to do or what you hope will happen, you don't do it, and it won't happen." "A person always going his or her best becomes a natural leader, just by example."