Boston Red Sox: 50 greatest players of all-time
By Phil Watson
Being the younger brother of Joe DiMaggio had to come with some issues. Being the slightly built, bespectacled younger brother of DiMaggio brought with it some real hurdles.
Throw in the fact that Dom DiMaggio shared an outfield with Ted Williams for his career and it’s easy to overlook just how good “The Little Professor” was.
DiMaggio followed older brothers Joe and Vince DiMaggio to the Pacific Coast League’s San Francisco Seals and spent three seasons there before the Boston Red Sox purchased his contract for $75,000 following the 1939 season, per the Society for American Baseball Research.
DiMaggio beat out Lou Finney for the job in right field coming out of spring training and later moved to center field, with the Red Sox trading away standout Doc Cramer to make room.
DiMaggio was an All-Star each of the next two seasons before battling his way into the Navy for three years during World War II.
He picked up where he left off in 1946, earning another All-Star trip while helping the Red Sox to the American League pennant.
DiMaggio would go to four more All-Star games, while leading the league in runs scored in 1950 and 1951, as well as in triples and stolen bases in 1950.
In parts of 11 seasons, all with Boston, DiMaggio hit .298/.383/.802, an OPS+ of 110, with 87 homers, 618 RBI, 1,046 runs scored and 100 stolen bases.
He retired in 1953 and launched a successful post-baseball life by founding American Latex Fiber Corporation in Lawrence, Massachusetts which eventually produced seat padding for automobiles. He later purchased the Delaware Valley Corporation, which produced innovations in varied industries.
DiMaggio set up a group of New England businessmen in an attempt to buy the Red Sox after the death of owner Tom Yawkey in 1976, but was rebuffed a number of times and created a rift between the former player and the organization for several years.
Also of note is that DiMaggio was one of the founders of the Boston Patriots in the old American Football League, a franchise known better today as the New England Patriots.