1934-36 Diamond Stars: #112 Joe DiMaggio

Sunday, February 1, 2026

#112 Joe DiMaggio - New York Yankees

Joseph Paul DiMaggio

New York Yankees

Outfield

Bats: Right Throws: Right Height: 6'2" Weight: 193

Born: November 25, 1914, Martinez, CA

Major League Teams: New York Yankees 1936-42, 1946-51

World Series Appearances: New York Yankees 1936-39, 1941-42, 1947, 1949-51

Died: March 8, 1999, Hollywood, FL (84)

Hall of Fame Induction: 1955

Joltin' Joe DiMaggio, the Yankee Clipper, reached almost mythic status during his 13 years with the Yankees. Beloved by the Bronx fans and famous worldwide, DiMaggio made his debut on May 3, 1936, and was a bona fide superstar from his time as a rookie to his retirement in 1951. He was an American League All-Star each year he played and helped guide the Yankees to 10 pennants and nine World Championships. He batted .346 in his sophomore season of 1937, attaining career best marks for home runs (46) and RBIs (167). DiMaggio won MVP honors in 1939, 1941 and 1947, the latter award made even more impressive due to the fact he had missed three full seasons while serving in the military during World War II. His best season was perhaps 1941 when he accumulated a 56-game hitting streak, finishing the year with a .357 average, 30 home runs and 125 RBIs.

DiMaggio retired following the 1951 season, ranking fifth all-time in career home runs (361) and sixth all-time in slugging percentage (.579). In 1,736 regular season games, DiMaggio batted .325 with 2,214 hits, including 389 doubles and 131 triples. His #5 was retired by the Yankees in 1952, and DiMaggio was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1955. He remained in the spotlight following his retirement from baseball, marrying Marilyn Monroe in 1954 and forever immortalized in Simon & Garfunkel's 1968 song, "Mrs. Robinson." DiMaggio continues to be regarded as one of the best baseball players of all time.

Building the Set

December 22, 2020 from McKeesport, PA (Steel City Collectibles)

In 2014, the third and final "extended" set of Diamond Stars cards was released, repeating three of the players available in the 1993 extended set, including DiMaggio, and adding a pair of cards for Babe Ruth (#109b and #110b). According to this article, the five cards were made available at the 2014 National Sports Collectors Convention (NSCC) held in Cleveland between July 30 and August 3, 2014. The cards were originally slabbed by PSA, numbered to 500, and given away to collectors when they signed up for a Gold or Platinum level PSA Collectors Club membership.

Steel City Collectibles was selling a lot of four of these five-card sets on eBay for the reasonable price of $17.95 before Christmas, and I eagerly added these cards to my collection. One set now lives in my Diamond Stars set binder and another set made its way into my oldest son's Doug's collection. That leaves me with two extra sets looking for a good home or homes.

I wish PSA and the sponsor of these sets, Historic Autograph Company, had paid attention to the extended sets issued earlier. Instead of repeating card numbers 109 to 113, they could have started with card number 154, picking up where the 1993 extended set had left off.

Variations Available

1 - 2014 / green back / 1935 statistics / 2014 copyright

The Card / Yankees Team Set

I'm partial to the first "what if" version of this Diamond Stars card, from the Chicle Fantasy Extended Edition set, issued in 1993 (#126). The write-up on the back of this card highlights DiMaggio's fast rise to fame via the Pacific Coast League. The four players the Yankees gave up for DiMaggio were Doc Farrell, Floyd Newkirk, Jimmy Densmore and Ted Norbert. Farrell refused to report to the Seals, with the Yankees adding in $5,000 to complete the deal.

1936 Season

DiMaggio entered spring training as the heir apparent to Babe Ruth (#109), who had departed the Yankees two years prior. Roy Johnson was the team's opening day left fielder, but DiMaggio made his debut and first start on May 3rd in left, moving to center field in late July. He'd hit .323 his rookie season, with 29 home runs and 125 RBIs. DiMaggio was one of five players in the powerful Yankee line-up with at least 100 RBIs, with Lou Gehrig's (#130) 152 leading them all. The Yankees defeated the Giants in the World Series, with DiMaggio playing every inning in center field for all six games. He batted .346 (9 for 26) in his first postseason play.