This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/23/2019
Three A.L. MVPs, nine World Series titles and Marilyn Monroe. Joltin' Joe DiMaggio had his share of triumphs, both on and off the field. Yet nothing could top his record streak of hitting in 56 straight games back in 1941. An extremely limited number of artifacts this incredible run have hit the auction block. This offered game used baseball, however, is one of them. The OAL (Harridge stamping faint but identifiable) soiled ball hails from a June 5th Yankees game against the Tigers at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. In the sixth inning, DiMaggio ripped a triple off future Hall of Famer Hal Newhouser to bring his streak to 21 games.
Research indicates this is just the third game used baseball from Joe's hit streak ever offered. Inscriptions neatly done in black ink on four separate panels set the scene: "Yank's Crosetti SS June 5, 1941" (south); "Detroit 5, Yankees 4 - 10 Innings" (west); "Harold Newhouser Pitcher" (north); "Pitchers Buck Newsom & Murphy Last 2 Innings" (sweet spot to east). Based on the notations, this exemplar appears to be a foul ball off the bat of Yankees shortstop Frank Crosetti. It is worthy mentioning that Crosetti the third to bat after DiMaggio's triple, meaning this could be the same ball from Joe's only hit of the contest. An interesting side note is the fact that Yankees catcher Bill Dickey and manager Joe McCarthy missed the game to attend Lou Gehrig's funeral that day.
According to a previous auction listing, the ball's provenance can be traced to an estate sale in northwest Michigan of a cottage built in the 1930's, which coincides with the era and locale of the Tigers game.