Simon and Garfunkel once asked “where have you gone Joe DiMaggio?”
Maybe the answer exists in a photo that’s currently up for auction. Joltin’ Joe is heading home.
Just 22 at the time, the Yankee Clipper is shown rounding the bases in the 1937 photo after belting his first ever World Series home run.
The 8×10 image is one of the top items in the RMY Auctions online catalog, set to run through Saturday. It remains in generally good condition but does have some creasing from use by newspaper photo editors.
Still carrying the original paper caption on the reverse, the Associated Press photo is from the fifth and final game of the series with the Giants on October 10, 1937 at the Polo Grounds. Art Fletcher is the third base coach who pats DiMaggio on the back as he heads for home. DiMaggio had taken Cliff Melton deep to left field with two outs to give the Yankees a 2-0 lead.
Mel Ott’s two-run home run in the bottom of the third tied it but the Yankees got the winning runs in the fifth on a Tony Lazzeri triple, an RBI single by pitcher Lefty Gomez and an RBI double by Lou Gehrig. Gomez was the winning pitcher that day in front of 38,216 fans.
The photo carries a date stamp from the day after the game.
In just 13 seasons with the New York Yankees, DiMaggio belted eight homers and helped the Yankees to nine World Series titles. He was an All Star in each of those 13 seasons, collected three MVP awards and, of course, rattled off a 56 game hitting streak in 1941. His overall statistics may have been even better without a three year stint in the United States Army during World War II. Those nine championships are only second in Yankees lore to Yogi Berra who enjoyed 10 titles.
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