DOM DiMAGGIO
ALS on the lower portion of a typed autograph request, asking for a donation for the benefit of old-time ballplayers
Autograph Letter signed: "D. P. DiMaggio", 1page, 8½x11. No place, no date. To "Dear Eileen Marie", written at the bottom of her typed letter requesting autographs. In full: "Your check will be made out to A. P. B. P. A. (Association of Professional Ballplayers of America) to help some needy old-time ballplayer in need. Thanks you." At bottom of a typed request for his autograph. Outfielder Dom DiMaggio (1917-2009) played for the Boston Red Sox from 1940 to 1942 and 1946 to 1953. The youngest and smallest of the three DiMaggio brothers, the bespectacled centerfielder made the All-Star team seven times. He set the pace for consistency, hitting in 34 straight games in 1949, and another 27 straight in 1951, and scored more than 100 runs seven times. He led the American League in runs scored in 1950 and 1951 and in stolen bases in 1950. Red Sox fans had a little verse, "Who's better than his brother Joe?/Dominic DiMaggio." (He wasn't, of course, but he was very good.) The Major League Players Association, the union representing current major leaguers, has not been generous in allowing for players who retired earlier on the comparatively meager salaries earned by many before the free agent era. DiMaggio's request for a charitable contribution to this cause through the APBA had, therefore, great merit. Two horizontal fold creases. Fine condition.