Joseph Paul “Joe” DiMaggio (1914–1999) was born in California to Italian immigrant parents. He played thirteen seasons at center field for the New York Yankees between 1936 and 1951, earning an All-Star berth every year and helping the team win ten American League pennants and nine World Series championships. His most famous accomplishment, however, was his fifty-six-game hitting streak in 1941, a record that still stands.
DiMaggio's fame did not stop the federal government from targeting his parents as enemy aliens during World War II, depriving them of their livelihood and imposing a curfew. Artist Kadir Nelson’s portrait of DiMaggio on the 2012 commemorative stamp shows him in a home uniform like the one displayed here, following through on a right-hand swing.
Scott Catalogue USA 4697a
Loan from United States Postal Service, Postmaster General’s Collection
Baseball fans complained that right-handed hitter DiMaggio appears poised to bat as a lefty, but the artwork is based on a photograph of Joltin’ Joe’s backswing.
Loan from The Stephen Wong Collection
DiMaggio wore this uniform during his spectacular rookie season. By May he was batting .411, and he finished the year with twenty-nine home runs and a World Series championship.
