March 16, 1999 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2783 RECOGNIZING AND HONORING JOE Mayor Guiliani arranged a parade from consider ourselves extremely lucky for DIMAGGIO the Battery to City Hall. Joe was in knowing such a man, particularly in Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask the lead car; I was to follow. As we this age of pampered sports heroes, unanimous consent that the Senate waited to get started, I went up to him, when ego and self-importance often proceed to the immediate consider- introduced myself and told of having overshadow what is occurring on the ation of S. Res. 63, introduced earlier watched him at the Stadium these field. Even I, who resented DiMaggio today by Senators MOYNIHAN, LOTT, many years ago. ‘‘But I have to tell for displacing my hero Gehrig, have and others. you,’’ I added, ‘‘ was my come to realize that there will never be The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without hero.’’ another like Joseph Paul DiMaggio. objection, it is so ordered. The clerk ‘‘He was my hero, too,’’ said Joe. I ask unanimous consent that the Well, Joe, too, was a hero to many will report. March 9, 1999, Times edi- people. Few have embodied the Amer- The bill clerk read as follows:. torial and George F. Will’s op-ed in the ican dream or created a more enduring Washington Post on Joe DiMaggio be A resolution (S. Res. 63) recognizing and legend than ‘‘Joltin’’ Joe DiMaggio. honoring Joe DiMaggio. printed in the RECORD. And fewer have carried themselves, There being no objection, the mate- The Senate proceeded to consider the both on and off the field, with the pride rial was ordered to be printed in the resolution. and courtliness of, as Hemingway said, RECORD, as follows: Mr. MOYNIHAN. ‘‘Joe, Joe ‘‘the great DiMaggio.’’ [From , Mar. 9, 1999] DiMaggio, we want you on our side!’’ Born the fourth son of an immigrant THE DIMAGGIO MYSTIQUE Well, he is on the other side now, but fisherman—two other brothers also It has been almost half a century since Joe stays with us in our memories. played in the majors—he joined the DiMaggio turned his center-field kingdom in Mine are, well, special to me. It Yankees in 1936 after dropping out of over to a strapping young- would be in 1938 or 1939 in . high school and grew into the game’s ster named , but even now, in The Depression lingered. Life was, well, most complete . He wore death, Joe DiMaggio still owns that green life. But there was even so somebody No. 5 and became the heir to acreage. He roamed the great open spaces who made a great difference and that (No. 3) and Lou Gehrig (No. 4) in the there with a grace and grandeur that rede- fined the art of fielding. Even more than the was Lou Gehrig of the New York Yan- team’s pantheon. DiMaggio was the kees. I admired him as no other man. prolific hitting that earned him enduring team’s superstar, on a team of super- fame, his silky, seemingly effortless motion Read of him each day, or so it seemed, stars, for 13 seasons. By the time his across the grass was the signature of in the Daily News. And yet I had never career ended in 1951, he had played in his game. seen him play. One summer day my 11 All-Star games and 10 , DiMaggio was one of those rare sports mother somehow found the needful nine of which the Yankees won. stars, like Babe Ruth, and sixty cents. Fifty cents for a ticket at The ‘‘Yankee Clipper’’ was acclaimed , who not only set new stand- the Stadium, a nickel for the subway at ’s centennial in 1969 as ‘‘the ards of athletic excellence but also became a distinctive part of American culture. As up and back. Off I went in high expec- greatest living ballplayer.’’ Even his tation. But Gehrig, disease I must as- stylish off the field as on, DiMaggio was an main rival , admitted icon of elegance and success, a name as rec- sume was now in progress, got no . A this: ‘‘. . . he [DiMaggio] was the ognizable on Broadway and in Hollywood as young player I had scarce noticed hit a greatest baseball player of our time. He at the ball park. Millions of baby boomers home . Joe DiMaggio. It began to could do it all.’’ DiMaggio played 1,736 who never saw DiMaggio play instantly un- drizzle, but they kept the game going games with the Yankees. He had a ca- derstood the reference in the just long enough so there would be no reer of .325 and hit 361 song of the 1960’s—‘‘Where have you gone, raincheck. I went home lifeless and lay home runs while striking out only 369 Joe DiMaggio? A nation turns its lonely eyes on my bed desolate. to you.’’ times. He could indeed do it all. Other men have hit the ball farther and Clearly I was in pain, if that is the But there is one statistic for which run the bases faster, but few have excelled at word. The next day my mother some- DiMaggio will be most remembered: his so many elements of the sport. DiMaggio’s how came up with yet another sixty 56-game , possibly the 56-game hitting streak in 1941 remains un- cents. Up I went. And the exact same most enduring accomplishment in all touched, one of the great benchmarks of con- sequence occurred. of sports. The streak began on May 15, sistency and productivity in all of sports. In I went home. But not lifeless. To the 1941, with a single in four at-bats 13 seasons with the Yankees, DiMaggio pro- contrary, animated. against the White Sox, and duced a career batting average of .325, hit 361 For I hated Joe DiMaggio. For life. home runs and knocked in more than 100 ended 56 games later on July 17 during runs in a season nine times. He played in 10 I knew this to be a sin, but it did not a hot night in Cleveland. In 56 games, World Series, 9 of which the Yankees won. matter. Gehrig retired, then died. My DiMaggio had gone to bat 223 times and He possessed one of the sweetest swings base- animus only grew more animated. delivered 91 hits, including 15 home ball has ever seen, a hitting stroke of such Thirty years and some went by. I was runs, for a .408 average. He drew 21 precision that he struck out only 369 times now the United States Permanent Rep- walks, twice was hit by pitched balls, in his major league career. resentative to the United Nations. One scored 56 runs, and knocked in 55. He But the numbers alone do not explain the evening I was having dinner at an hit in every game for two months, DiMaggio mystique. Part of it was his brief, Italian restaurant in midtown. As our turbulent marriage to Monroe and striking out just seven times. his taste for nightclubs and tony hotels. Part company was about finished, who But DiMaggio’s game was so com- of it was his $100,000-a-year salary, a small walked in but DiMaggio himself, ac- plete and elegant that statistics cannot fortune in his days as a Yankee. For younger companied by a friend. They took a do it justice. The New York Times said fans, there was also an almost mystical link table against the wall opposite. I in an editorial when he retired, ‘‘The to the past—DiMaggio joined the Yankees in watched. He looked over, smiled and combination of proficiency and exquis- 1936, just two years after Babe Ruth left and gave a sort of wave. Emboldened, as we ite grace which Joe DiMaggio brought before Lou Gehrig retired. His appearance on were leaving, I went over to shake to the art of playing center field was ceremonial occasions at Yankee Stadium in hands. He rose wonderfully to the occa- recent years was thrilling for fans of all something no baseball averages can ages. sion. measure and that must be seen to be His fame also flowed from the aura of quiet I went out on 54th Street as I recall. believed and appreciated.’’ dignity that DiMaggio carefully preserved And of a sudden was struck as if by Today, I join the Majority Leader throughout his career and retirement. With some Old Testament lightening. ‘‘My and Senators CHARLES SCHUMER (D- the notable exception of his service as a God,’’ I thought, ‘‘he has forgiven me!’’ NY), BARBARA BOXER (D-CA), DIANNE pitchman for the Bowery Savings Bank and He must have known about me all FEINSTEIN (D-CA), and JIM H. BUNNING Mr. brewing appliances, he dodged the those years, but he returned hate with (R-KY) in introducing a resolution that celebrity limelight. The mystery only added to his allure. love. My soul had been in danger and honors Joe DiMaggio for his storied DiMaggio, who was 84, died with opening he had rescued me. baseball career and for all that he has day a month away. Though he will no longer Still years later, just a little while done off the field. As we reflect on his return to Yankee Stadium to deliver the cer- ago the Yankees won another . life and mourn his death, I ask that we emonial first pitch, his singular record of S2784 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE March 16, 1999 athletic achievement and classy conduct will was 24. DiMaggio, son of a San Francisco gled to deal with the earthquake and be long revered. fisherman, was proud, reserved and as pri- its aftermath, they saw a man who— vate as possible for the bearer—the second despite his advanced age—showed the (From , Mar. 9, 1999] generation—of America’s premium athletic strength and dignity to walk calmly tradition, the Yankee greatness established DIMAGGIO’S ELEGANT CAREER through the rubble and reassure his (By George F. Will) by Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. DiMaggio felt violated by the sight of Marilyn filming the neighbors. At this moment, as always, There is peculiar pathos to the lives of famous scene in ‘‘’’ when DiMaggio was an inspiration to us all. most great athletes because their careers a gust of wind from a Manhattan subway From his early days with the San compress life’s trajectory of aspiration, ac- grate blows her skirt up above her waist. Francisco Seals to his service as base- complishment and decline. Then what? For Pride, supposedly one of the seven deadly most, the rest of life, which is most of life, ball’s greatest ambassador, Joe sins, is often a virtue and the source of oth- DiMaggio was the epitome of elegance, is anticlimax, like that of ers. DiMaggio was pride incarnate, and he Runners whom renown outran, and did much to stir ethnic grace, and good sportsmanship. And the name died before the man, pride among and Jews. Mr. SCHUMER. Mr. President, I am But there was seamlessness to Joe When as a player DiMaggio had nothing left pleased to join Senators MOYNIHAN, DiMaggio’s life in and after the game. The to prove, he was asked why he still played so LOTT, and BOXER in cosponsoring this patina of age did not dull the luster of his hard, every day. Because, he said, every day resolution to honor Mr. Joe DiMaggio. name. Baseball, sport of the long season and there is apt to be some child in the stand much history, has an unusually rich statis- On , 1999, Joe DiMaggio, one of who has never before seen me play. tical geology—a sediment of numbers. Some the greatest baseball players of all- An entire ethic, the code of craftsmanship, time, died in Tampa, Florida. The Yan- numbers are so talismanic that simply citing can be tickled from that admirable thought. them suffices to identify the achievement Not that DiMaggio practiced the full range kee Clipper led his life with class and and achiever. of his craft. When one of his managers was dignity. A true hero and the quin- Examples are 116 (victories in a season, asked if DiMaggio could , he said he did tessential American, Mr. DiMaggio 1906 Cubs); 511 (career victories, ); not know and ‘‘I’ll never find out, either.’’ gave people something to believe in. 1.12 (season , , DiMaggio, one of Jefferson’s ‘‘natural aris- Playing 13 seasons in the major 1968); 130 (stolen bases in a season, Rickey tocrats,’’ proved that a healthy democracy leagues, all for the , Henderson, 1982); 755 (home runs, career, knows and honors nobility when it sees it. ); 60, then 61 and now 70 (home 5 not only took left field in runs by Babe Ruth in 1927, in Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, as a Yankee Stadium, but also took over 1961 and Mark McGwire in 1998); .406 (most Senator from Joe DiMaggio’s home New York and baseball showing us his recent .400 season, Ted Williams, 1941). And state, I am pleased to be an original co- talent day in and day out. When one baseball’s most instantly recognized number, sponsor of the resolution honoring ‘‘the looks at the numbers accumulated by 56—Joe DiMaggio’s consecutive game hitting Yankee Clipper.’’ Joe DiMaggio holds a Mr. DiMaggio, it is hard to think of streak in 1941. unique place in the hearts of every anyone who did it better and in such a The Streak, as it is still known, was stun- baseball fan and every Californian. genuine fashion. As a baseball player, ning, even if a sympathetic at Joe DiMaggio was born in 1914 in Yankee Stadium may have turned an error few have approached DiMaggio. With a or two into hits. It took two sensational Martinez, California, near San Fran- .325 batting average, nine World Series plays by Indians cisco Bay. Like many Californians then rings, a 56 consecutive game hitting to stop The Streak, and the next day and now, Joe was the child of immi- streak in 1941 (a major league record DiMaggio started a 16-game streak. His 56 grants. His parents came from to that has never been seriously chal- has not been seriously challenged in 57 sea- California, where his father found work lenged for more than 5 decades), 361 sons. His 1993 minor league streak of 61 has as a fisherman. home runs with only 369 strike-outs, not been matched since then. At age 18, Joe began his professional Joe DiMaggio transcended the game of Because of baseball’s grinding everyday- baseball career with the San Francisco ness, professionals place a premium on con- baseball and will remain a symbol for sistency. DiMaggio brought his best, which Seals, where he set a Pacific Coast the ages of talent, commitment, and was baseball’s best, to the ballpark every League record that still stands by hit- grace. As Simon and Garfunkel sang in day. What he epitomized to a mesmerized na- ting in 61 straight games. Three years their hit song Mrs. Robinson, ‘‘where tion in 1941—steely will, understated style, later, he joined the New York Yankees have you gone Joe DiMaggio. . ..’’, the heroism for the long haul—the nation would and immediately became one of base- answer is, into our hearts, which will need after Dec. 7. ball’s brightest stars. In 1941, his 56- stay with us forever. However, the unrivaled elegance of his ca- game hitting streak set a major league reer is defined by two numbers even more But Joe DiMaggio was more than a impressive than his 56. They are 8 and 0. record that most baseball fans consider great baseball player, he transcended Eight is the astonishingly small difference the game’s greatest achievement. the game and will remain a symbol for between his 13-year career totals for home DiMaggio played 13 seasons for the the ages—a symbol of talent, commit- runs (361) and (369). (In the 1986 Yankees, winning three Most Valuable ment, and grace. With so few true he- and 1987 season, hit 64 home Player awards and playing on nine roes today, we are lucky that millions runs and struck out 332 times.) Zero is the World Series championship teams. He of New Yorkers and baseball fans ev- number of times DiMaggio was thrown out was selected to the Baseball Hall of erywhere could live their lives touched going from first to third. Fame in 1955 and voted Major League On the field, the man made few mistakes. by a hero like Joe DiMaggio. Off the field, he made a big one in his mar- Baseball’s greatest living player in Mr. COCHRAN. I ask unanimous con- riage to . But even it en- 1969. sent that the resolution and preamble larged his mythic status. As when they were Joe DiMaggio was a great ballplayer, be agreed to, en bloc, the motion to re- in Japan, and she visited U.S. troops in but he was far more than that. Joe was consider be laid upon the table, and Korea. Upon her return to Tokyo, she said to a role model for young people and a that any statements relating to the him, ingenuously: You’ve never heard cheer- model citizen. At the height of his ca- resolution be placed at the appropriate ing like that—there must have been fifty or reer, he left baseball to volunteer for sixty thousand. He said, dryly: Oh, yes I place in the RECORD. the Army Air Corps and served three The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without have. years in World War II. In his later They had gone to Japan at the rec- objection, it is so ordered. ommendation of a friend (Lefty O’Doul, man- years he worked tirelessly to support The resolution (S. Res. 63) was agreed ager of the San Francisco Seals), who said the Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital to. that in a foreign country they could wander in Hollywood, Florida. The preamble was agreed to. around without drawing crowds. The friend I will never forget a televised image The resolution, with its preamble, did not know that Japan was then obsessed of Joe DiMaggio from a decade ago. In reads as follows: with things American, especially baseball October 1989, as the Oakland A’s and S.RES. 63 stars and movie stars. When the most fa- were about to mous of each category landed, it took their start a World Series game, a mammoth Joseph Paul ‘‘Joe’’ DiMaggio was born in car six hours to creep to their hotel through Martinez, California, on November 25, 1914; more than a million people. earthquake struck the Bay Area. Fire Whereas Joe DiMaggio was the son of Sicil- As a Californian, he represented baseball’s swept through San Francisco’s Marina ian immigrants, Joseph Paul and Rosalia future—he and San Diego’s Ted Williams, a district, where DiMaggio lived at the DiMaggio, and was the 2d of 3 brothers to 21-year-old rookie in 1939, when DiMaggio time. That night, as residents strug- play ; March 16, 1999 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — SENATE S2785 Whereas Joe DiMaggio played 13 seasons in MEASURE PLACED ON THE The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without the major leagues, all for the New York Yan- CALENDAR—H. CON. RES. 42 objection, it is so ordered. kees; Whereas Joe DiMaggio, who wore number 5 Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask f in Yankee pinstripes, became a baseball icon unanimous consent that H. Con. Res. 42 in the 1941 season by hitting safely in 56 con- be placed on the calendar. PROGRAM secutive games, a major league record that The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without has stood for more than 5 decades and has objection, it is so ordered. Mr. COCHRAN. For the information never been seriously challenged; f of all Senators, the Senate will recon- Whereas Joe DiMaggio compiled a .325 bat- vene tomorrow at 10 a.m. and begin a ting average during his storied career and ORDERS FOR WEDNESDAY, MARCH period of morning business until 11 played on 9 World Series championship 17, 1999 teams; a.m. Following morning business, the Whereas Joe DiMaggio hit 361 home runs Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask Senate will resume consideration of during his career, while striking out only 369 unanimous consent that when the Sen- the missile defense bill, with a limited times; ate completes its business today it number of amendments remaining in Whereas Joe DiMaggio was selected to the stand in adjournment until 10 a.m., on order. The leader has expressed his Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955, 4 years after Wednesday, March 17. I further ask hope that the Senate can complete ac- his retirement; that on Wednesday, immediately fol- tion on the bill by early afternoon on Whereas Joe DiMaggio in 1969 was voted Wednesday. Major League Baseball’s greatest living lowing the prayer, the Journal of pro- player; ceedings be approved to date, the For the remainder of the week, the Whereas Joe DiMaggio served the Nation morning hour be deemed to have ex- leader has stated that the Senate may in World War II as a member of the Army Air pired, the time for the two leaders be consider a Kosovo resolution and/or the Corps; reserved, and the Senate then begin a supplemental appropriations bill. Whereas Joe DiMaggio was tireless in help- period of morning business until 11 Therefore, Members should expect ing others and was devoted to the ‘‘Joe a.m., with Senators permitted to speak rollcall votes during Wednesday’s ses- DiMaggio Children’s Hospital’’ in Hollywood, for up to 10 minutes each, with the fol- sion and throughout the reminder of Florida; the week. Whereas Joe DiMaggio will be remembered lowing exceptions: Senator VOINOVICH, 15 minutes; Senator GRASSLEY, 10 min- as a role model for generations of young peo- f ple; and utes; Senator SCHUMER, 10 minutes; Whereas Joe DiMaggio transcended base- Senator BINGAMAN, 10 minutes; Senator ball and will remain a symbol for the ages of KERREY of Nebraska, 15 minutes. ADJOURNMENT UNTIL 10 A.M. talent, commitment, and achievement: Now, The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without TOMORROW therefore, be it objection, it is so ordered. Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, if Resolved, That the Senate recognizes and Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, I ask there is no further business to come be- honors Joe DiMaggio— unanimous consent that following fore the Senate, I now ask unanimous (1) for his storied baseball career; morning business, the Senate resume consent the Senate stand in adjourn- (2) for his many contributions to the Na- tion throughout his lifetime; and consideration of S. 257, the national ment under the previous order. (3) for transcending baseball and becoming missile defense bill, under the provi- There being no objection, the Senate, a symbol for the ages of talent, commitment, sions of the unanimous consent agree- at 5:59 p.m., adjourned until Wednes- and achievement. ment reached earlier today. day, March 17, 1997, at 10 a.m.