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Item # 724875
THE NEW YORK TIMES, March 4, 1951
* Joe DiMaggio "The Yankee Clipper"
* New York Yankees MLB baseball
* Announces his last year as a player
The front page of the sport's section (near the back) has a two column heading: "DiMaggio Plan to Quit After '51 Stuns Yankees Players, Officials" with subhead. Coverage continues on page 2 with related photo. (see images) Great to have in this famous NYC publication.
Complete with 80+ pages, rag edition in nice condition.
background: Joe DiMaggio’s 1951 Spring Training in Phoenix wasn't the site of a formal retirement announcement, but rather the beginning of a poignant "long goodbye" marked by physical exhaustion. While March 4th saw him preparing for the season, the atmosphere was thick with the realization that the "Yankee Clipper" was physically spent; plagued by a chronic, agonizing bone spur in his heel and a losing battle with his own high standards, DiMaggio spent much of that spring candidly admitting to teammates and the press that his career was nearing its end. This season became a historic "passing of the torch," as a hobbled DiMaggio patrolled center field while a 19-year-old rookie named Mickey Mantle looked on from right field. True to his dignified persona, DiMaggio refused to play as a shadow of his former self, ultimately finishing the season with a World Series ring before officially walking away in December 1951, famously turning down a $100,000 contract because he felt he could no longer perform at the level the fans expected.
March 04, 1951
THE NEW YORK TIMES, March 4, 1951
* Joe DiMaggio "The Yankee Clipper"
* New York Yankees MLB baseball
* Announces his last year as a player
The front page of the sport's section (near the back) has a two column heading: "DiMaggio Plan to Quit After '51 Stuns Yankees Players, Officials" with subhead. Coverage continues on page 2 with related photo. (see images) Great to have in this famous NYC publication.
Complete with 80+ pages, rag edition in nice condition.
background: Joe DiMaggio’s 1951 Spring Training in Phoenix wasn't the site of a formal retirement announcement, but rather the beginning of a poignant "long goodbye" marked by physical exhaustion. While March 4th saw him preparing for the season, the atmosphere was thick with the realization that the "Yankee Clipper" was physically spent; plagued by a chronic, agonizing bone spur in his heel and a losing battle with his own high standards, DiMaggio spent much of that spring candidly admitting to teammates and the press that his career was nearing its end. This season became a historic "passing of the torch," as a hobbled DiMaggio patrolled center field while a 19-year-old rookie named Mickey Mantle looked on from right field. True to his dignified persona, DiMaggio refused to play as a shadow of his former self, ultimately finishing the season with a World Series ring before officially walking away in December 1951, famously turning down a $100,000 contract because he felt he could no longer perform at the level the fans expected.
Category: The 20th Century
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