Joe DiMaggio Diaries Up For Auction, Hardly Think the Shy Yankee Clipper Would Have Wanted It To Be

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio, Our nation turns it’s lonely eyes to you. What’s that you say, Mrs. Robinson. Jotting Joe has left and gone away, Hey hey hey.

Joe DiMaggio, the Yankee Clipper, was a class act both on and off the baseball diamond. Having always been known for his shyness and keeping to himself, one wonders whether Joe D. would have ever wanted his private diaries made public. I think we all know the answer.

The entry is part of a 2,000-page, 29-volume collection of the New York Yankees icon’s diaries, meticulously handwritten between 1982 and 1993, which are now being offered for sale. The pages, in plastic protective sheets, are contained in thick, black loose-leaf binders that were kept stacked in the closet of DiMaggio’s lawyer. Other diary entries are also clipped and businesslike. DiMaggio was known for keeping his emotions to himself. (SI)

Joe DiMaggio was respected by all. In a day and age without 24–7–365 sports media, Joe DiMaggio was one of the most recognizable individuals. Many baseball traditionalists know Joe DiMaggio for his 56 game hitting streak that endures the test of time. Many admire with willingness for forgo three year from 1943–1945 to serve our country in WWII. Many know the Yankee Clipper as the one time husband of Marilyn Monroe and probably the best thing that ever happened to her.

Excerpt from Joe DiMaggio’s diary:

April 28, 1989: “Up at 5 a.m. … Book people felt me out with questions pertaining to baseball. Some part of my private life but not too strong on that. Will not reveal anything in a negative way towards Marilyn — only books that have come out on her might have not been truthful.” (MSNBC)

Just recently when Anna Nicole Smith passed away, many in the media compared it to the passing of Marilyn Monroe. However, once again those in the MSM could never have been more wrong. What was missing from the Anna Nicole Smith story was the hero named Joe DiMaggio. An individual who quietly kept to himself, never said a negative thing about Marilyn, nor ever tried to capitalize or make money off her. There are many people today, both in baseball and in every day life could learn a major league lesson from the class act named Joe DiMaggio.