BrokenCowboy: Sports Views with a West Coast Bias

July 17, 1941 (Streak Over)

This was finally the night when Joe DiMaggio's streak would end. The Yankees topped the Indians 4-3, but all eyes were on DiMaggio, as usual. What's interesting about DiMaggio's night at the plate is how easily he could've extended the streak had he just gotten the slightest bit lucky. The villains on this night, Al Smith, Jim Bagby, and Ken Keltner, have all become famous for their part in DiMaggio's demise, but other powers seemed to be at play here. In DiMaggio's first at bat, he smashed a hard hopper down the line towards third. Cleveland third baseman Keltner was playing incredibly deep. DiMaggio remembers that he was actually on the outfield grass. He knew DiMaggio would never bunt, and he had one of the stronger throwing arms in the league, allowing him to play deeper than most third baseman. As the ball bounded down the line, ticketed for the leftfield corner and a certain double, Keltner somehow was able to backhand the ball behind the bag. His momentum carried him into foul territory, but he turned quickly and unleashed a bullet to first base, denying DiMaggio. Cleveland starter Al Smith then walked DiMaggio in his next at bat, much to the dismay of the Cleveland crowd, which was approaching 70,000. In his third at bat DiMaggio again tested Keltner with another two-hop smash down the line, and the result was the same. Keltner was able to glove the ball and fire to first, getting DiMaggio by a step. In what would be his final plate appearance of the streak, DiMaggio came up in the top of the eighth inning and promptly smashed a grounder to shortstop Lou Boudreau. The ball took a wicked hop, and if luck had been with DiMaggio that night the ball probably would've bounded into left field for a single. Instead, Boudreau fielded the ball easily and started a 6-4-3 double play. The streak was over.

Or was it? Down 4-1, Cleveland mounted a ninth-inning rally to bring the score to 4-3. If they could tie the score and send the game into extra innings, DiMaggio would have another shot, as he would be scheduled to hit in the top of the tenth inning. That tying run stood at third base in the person of Larry Rosenthal. There were no outs, so extra innings seemed an almost certainty. Unfortunately, the Yankees weren't able to cash in that run, and DiMaggio never got that extra at bat.

The Yankees would continue their hot pace in the games to come, and they would eventually win the pennant easily, leaving Cleveland far out of first place. And what of DiMaggio? After going hitless the game before, DiMaggio promptly started another streak. This second streak lasted seventeen games, which means that had DiMaggio managed a hit on the fateful night in Cleveland, he might have put together an eighty-four game streak. Ridiculous.

July 16, 1941 (Game 56)

In time, of course, this fifty-sixth game would become known as the final game of Joe DiMaggio's record hitting streak, but at the time it was just another game in the string. Newspapers and radio stations still carried news bulletins on DiMaggio's at bats, but there was no longer a record to shoot for; the only question was how long he could continue the streak. On this day, the answer was the same as it had been for the previous fifty-five games: one more day. As the Yankees were hammering Cleveland 10-3 and pushing the Indians five games back of first place, DiMaggio collected the final three hits of his streak. He singled to center in the first inning, reached again on a blooper that fell in front of the center fielder in the third, and stroked a hard double to left in his final at bat of the day.

In an interview after the game, DiMaggio spoke of how the pressure had changed. While chasing Keeler's record he had felt the importance of each at bat, knowing that any missed opportunity might spell the end of the streak. At this point, however, he still felt pressure to get a hit, but not with every at bat. DiMaggio also had two goals that kept him focused this deep into the streak. First, he spoke of wanting to match the sixty-one game streak he authored while playing for the minor league San Francisco Seals, and second, he wanted to catch Ted Williams for the league batting title. His 3 for 4 afternoon pushed his season average up to .375, twenty points short of Williams at .395.

This post cites information from "Streak: Joe DiMaggio and the Summer of '41," by Michael Seidel

July 15, 1941 (Game 55)

The Yankees bounced back against the Sox, winning 5-4 while DiMaggio collected two more hits to reach fifty-five straight. He reached on an error in the first, then shot a ground ball over second base for a single in the third. He would double later in the game as well.

This post cites information from "Streak: Joe DiMaggio and the Summer of '41," by Michael Seidel

July 13, 1941 (Games 52 & 53)

The Yankees swept a doubleheader from the Chicago White Sox, stretching their winning streak to fourteen in a row, and DiMaggio kept his streak going as well. In the opener, DiMaggio collected a dubious hit when his grounder to short was bobbled by Luke Appling. The official scoring of the play was questionable, but when DiMaggio came to bat in the fourth, he lined a clean single into center field, ending any potential controversy before it could get started. Both hits came at the expense of White Sox starter Ted Lyons, who became the second pitcher to claim the distinction of having surrended a homerun to Babe Ruth during his historic sixty-homer season in 1927 and giving up a hit to DiMaggio during his streak. The first was Hall of Famer Lefty Grove. DiMaggio only managed a single in the second game, a 1-0 Yankee victory, but the streak would live for another day.

This post cites information from "Streak: Joe DiMaggio and the Summer of '41," by Michael Seidel

July 12, 1941 (Game 51)

Another day, another win for the Yanks over the Browns. This time, it was a 7-5 win, the team's twelfth in a row. It took DiMaggio until the fourth inning to get his hit, a solid double to center field. He would add a single later on. The Indians were busy losing to the A's, so the Yankee lead was now a healthy five games.

This post cites information from "Streak: Joe DiMaggio and the Summer of '41," by Michael Seidel

July 11, 1941 (Game 50)

The Yankees opened up a four-game lead as they beat the Browns 6-2 for their eleventh straight win. Once again, DiMaggio singled in the first inning to reach fifty in a row, but he was far from done. He would single twice more and then finish his day by smashing his league-leading twentieth home run in the ninth inning. He was 4 for 5 on the day, which brought his average up .365, but still far short of Ted Williams. The Boston slugger had been slumping of late, and his average had dipped all the way down to .398. As history tells us, he'd recover.

This post cites information from "Streak: Joe DiMaggio and the Summer of '41," by Michael Seidel

July 10, 1941 (Game 49)

Following the all-star break, the Yankees travelled to St. Louis for a matchup with the lowly Browns. For the fourth game in a row, DiMaggio secured his needed hit in the first inning, this team singling on a grounder to the hole at shortstop. It was lucky for him that he was able to take care of business so early, as the game was called for rain after the sixth inning, giving the Yankees a 1-0 victory.

This post cites information from "Streak: Joe DiMaggio and the Summer of '41," by Michael Seidel

July 6, 1941 (Games 47 & 48)

The Yankees had planned a huge doubleheader on July 4th and were set to honor the recently deceased Lou Gehrig by unveiling a monument in center field, but rain had pushed the celebration to the sixth. With more than 60,000 on hand to pay their respects to the fallen Yankee captain, DiMaggio and the Yanks rose to the occasion. The Yankees beat the A's 8-4 in the opener before closing out the twin bill with a 3-1 victory in the night cap for their ninth win a row; they now led the league by a comfortable three and a half games. DiMaggio, meanwhile, had a big day. He had three singles and a double in the first game and added another double and a triple in the second game. He was now hitting a robust .357 for the season, but still trailed Ted Williams (.405) by a considerable margin.

This post cites information from "Streak: Joe DiMaggio and the Summer of '41," by Michael Seidel

July 5, 1941 (Game 46)

Now that DiMaggio had eclipsed all existing records, his streak began to be viewed differently. Instead of debating whether or not he could catch Sisler or Keeler, baseball fans were now watching him intently, wondering how long the streak would last. It would last at least another day. The Philadelphia A's were in New York for the start of a three-game series, and the Yankees took the opener easily by a 10-5 score. DiMaggio homered in the first inning (one of five Yankee home runs on the day) to extend his streak, but it would be his only hit of the afternoon.

This post cites information from "Streak: Joe DiMaggio and the Summer of '41," by Michael Seidel

July 2, 1941 (Game 45)

The Yankees beat the Red Sox 8-4 for their sixth straight win, increasing their American Leauge lead to three games over Cleveland. With DiMaggio having already tied Keeler's mark, the crowd was much smaller, but those 8,662 in the Stadium that day watched as he took the record and stood alone at forty-five games in a row. DiMaggio's lone hit was a screaming liner that rocketed over Ted Williams's head and found the left field seats for his eighteenth home run of the season. After the game, a young Williams admitted admiration for DiMaggio. "I really wish I could hit like that guy Joe DiMaggio. I'm being honest." Williams was hitting .401 at the time.

This post cites information from "Streak: Joe DiMaggio and the Summer of '41," by Michael Seidel