Joe DiMaggio Breaking many records, Joe DiMaggio’s talent was unbelievable. In 1969 he was voted baseball’s greatest living player in a nationwide poll. (Scavone 1) He married the most iconic star off all time, Marilyn Monroe. His skill level prevailed higher than anyone in his time, which was filled with Hall of Famers. This talented hard worker went from a fisherman’s son, to an American hero. Joe DiMaggio was one of the best, most impactful, all-around players to play the past-time sport of baseball. Joe was born on November 25th, 1914 in Martinez, California. (Viola 7) He was raised by two Italian parents, Giuseppe (dad) and Rosalie (mom). He had eight siblings, four brothers and four sisters. (Viola 8) Joe’s dad was a fisherman who …show more content…
This meant he had at least one hit in fifty-six consecutive games. (Viola 5) Before the streak, Joe’s team was in third place. After his streak, they skyrocketed into first place. He hit off of Hall of Fame pitchers, like Lefty Grove, Hal Newhouser, Bob Feller and Ted Lyons, with ease. He built a record that hitters today in the MLB strive to break. His hitting was a great representation of hope. Joe gave confidence to children of immigrants, like him, to be successful. (Tackach 1) He even built team confidence because “you’d just see him, and know you had a pretty good chance to win.” (Gaffney 1) Since World War II was happening at this time, his streak helped distract and relieve the minds of most Americans. He also doubled the attendance during this time, everyone wanted to be a part of this historic event. The respect he had for the game of baseball was greater than anyone else’s. He was asked why he always gives his all and he replied with, “there is always some kid who is watching for the first or last time. I owe him my best.” (Viola 82) Joe was the ideal professional athlete and role model for the youth. (Lawlor 1) Joe excelled in every category of baseball, and he had no weaknesses. (Gaffney 1) Joe had the most consistent career ever. His mental toughness could not be broken, taking the Yankees
Babe Ruth is still a very well-known person in history today, even almost one-hundred years later. He did not only change the way people viewed negro baseball leagues, but he also gained a large reputation for his ability to play baseball, obviously due to his amazing abilities. Ruth’s ability to play was almost impossibly good, in fact, he was even titled “athlete of the century” for his ability. With that ability and power that he had once he won, he would become a
In 1951, the Yanks continued to enjoy success. However, as they welcomed in rookie newcomer Mickey Mantle, they lost Joe DiMaggio to retirement and Whitey Ford to the military for two years of service. With Ford off fighting the war, the pitching staff as a whole lowered the team ERA by more than half a run per game and also doubled th...
But a sports writer named Tris Speaker thought that maybe he should have stayed as a pitcher when he joined the Yankees when he said this, “Ruth made a grave mistake when he gave up pitching. Working once a week, he might have lasted a long time and become a great star. After Babe’s first year with the Yankees, he already looked like he was going to be a once-in-a-lifetime talent. He brought so much power to the plate and so much excitement to the game, it was unreal. In his first year with the Yankees, he had a .376 batting average with a insane 54 homeruns, the most ever in a season by a player. That wasn’t the only year he set the homerun record. The next year he hit 59 homeruns, and then he hit 60 homeruns in 1927. In Nine years with the Yankees so far, Ruth as a .355 batting average and an enormous amount of homeruns with 467. Teammates have loved playing with Ruth, including one teammate Lefty Gomez, as he said this, ”No one hit homeruns the way Babe did. They were something special. They were like homing pigeons. The ball would leave the bat, pause briefly, suddenly gain its bearings then take off for the
Joe Oliver was born on May 11th, 1885. It is said that he was born on the plantation that his mother worked for as a cook near Donaldsonville, Louisiana, although there are not very many actual documents of him of that time. During Oliver’s childhood, it is said that his mother would often move to different locations for work. When he was 17, he found work as a butler to a white family. He
Albert Pujols said, “Baseball was an outlet for him to be able to do that, and he had some special talent to go through what he did and still set an example for others. You cannot replace it.”
does have downfalls in his reputation and his actions throughout the long term of his life, but he still changed the game of baseball and gave people hope while doing so. When all the fame, rush of the spotlight, youth, and the wild side of Babe ruth settled down, his great qualities and the good he did really started to shine through. He did fill the stands of baseball by giving people hope and thrill throughout the war time and Great Depression (Family). He set stunning records that would forever be remembered in the baseball community and in the United States in general. It requires a unique and special hero to continue to have the effect that Babe Ruth still has today. Babe Ruth does deserve to be recognized as one of the most influential people in
“Smokey Joe” Wood was selected because of what he did in the 1912 season. It was easily his best of his career, and it’s also arguably one of the greatest seasons by any pitcher ever. He won an astonishing thirty-four games while only losing five. He had a 1.91 ERA (Earned Run Average) while striking out 258 batters. Since 1900 there has only been 21 times a pitcher has won over thirty games. Wood’s thirty-four win season is the sixth highest total; however, after this season he was never again able to reach this level of success in his career. He won 117 of th...
He had one of the game's most glorious seasons in 1941, hitting for an average of .406 at the age of twenty three. He is the last player to accomplish this feat. Nevertheless, he lost out on the most valuable player award that year to Joe DiMaggio, who had posted his 56 game hitting streak that same year. He most likely lost this MVP award because of his lack of respect and his arrogance to many of the sports writers and media, who are the ones who vote for the winner ( Nightingale).
Since then he has led his team to five world series titles and become the team captain. He is known for his good looks and quiet confidence. He is still playing shortstop for the Yankee’s today and never stops improving. More world series titles are seen in his future.
Throughout the course of American history, there have been copious amounts of famous speeches, spoken by many different people. From political figures to sports players; these people have provided deep thoughts and great insights about who they are and the world we live in today. Being a sports enthusiast, a memorable speech comes to my mind. Lou Gehrig’s “farewell speech”, given on July 4th, 1939, to more than 62,000 fans at New York City’s Yankee Stadium, has become a cornerstone in the history of baseball in America. Lou Gehrig is considered one of the most under-rated sports players of all time. Gehrig played in the same era with greats like Babe Ruth and Joe DiMaggio. In Fact, Gehrig played on the same team and actually batted behind Ruth and DiMaggio. Gehrig’s nickname is the “Iron Horse,” which came about with Gehrig’s amazing consecutive games played streak. Gehrig played in 2,130 consecutive games, which stood as the consecutive games record until just recently broken by Cal Ripken, Jr. Gehrig died in 1941, at the age of 37. Though many famous speeches have been spoken throughout time, Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech has remained one of the most memorable speeches of all time, due to the way he captivated his fans with the use of rhetoric.
Jackie Robinson did more in his short baseball career than anyone else ever did for the sport. He was always able to push on despite the criticisms and punishment he took from others. No other man can say that they broke the color barrier or that they changed the sport of baseball forever. To do what he did required strength and the ability to endure physical and mental pain. Jackie Robinson was the first African-American Major League Baseball player. He knew that if he failed to integrate baseball he could delay civil rights. By doing what he did, Jackie Robinson contributed greatly to the civil rights movement. His life experiences and hardships allowed him to leave a mark on civil rights that extended farther than just baseball.
should know Babe Ruth is for the most important reason, that being the way he
Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play Major League Baseball. This was not an easy task for him to do. People judged him and didn’t like him by the color of his skin. Jackie Robinson said “The hate mail piled up” (Robinson). That shows that no one cared to give him a chance to play in the Major League. The innocence of young kids had a great inspiration on Jackie Robinson because they didn’t care about his color they just wanted him to play good. Jackie Robinson was “proud to be a part of a significant breakthrough” (Robinson) in breaking the color barrier. Even though Jackie Robinson has been through
The New York Yankees of 1927 were a high-powered machine lead by some of the greats of all time in baseball. This baseball team was composed of seven Hall of Famers, six players including: Earle Combs, George Herman (Babe Ruth), Lou Gehrig, Herb Pennock, Tony, Lazzeri, and Waite Hoyt, and their Manager, Miller Higgins. (New York Yankees Hall of Fame Register, 70) The team had a no-mercy philosophy and had a sense of confidence exceptionally high noted by Babe Ruth: "It was murder, we never even worried five or six runs behind. Wham! Wham! Wham! And wham! No matter who was pitching." The 1920's were an "economic boom for Americans. Now people had more time on their hands with the inventions such as the car and other household products. Those who chose not to be swept up in the Jazz revolution chose to lose themselves in sporting events during the '20s. (Marshall, 1) The newfound confidence propelled the 1927 Yankees to embody the spirit of the 1920's.
Jackie Robinson once said that “"A life is not important except in the impact it has on other lives." (Brainy Quotes). Jackie Robinson faced more abuse than any other baseball player. Jackie Robinson had his mind set on breaking the color barrier for African Americans. Jackie Robinson had the muscle strength and talent to inspire and change the color barrier in Major League baseball. Jackie Robinson was one of the most significant baseball players that America has ever known for Jackie Robinson’s bravery to stop the color barrier for, his inspiration he gave to people all around the world and for his accomplishments during baseball and outside of baseball this made him one of the most valuable players in the National League.