One good Joe recalls another

Following the death of the Yankee Clipper on March 8, the priest spoke with The Evangelist about what it's meant to share the same name as one of the greatest baseball players of all time -- and to have met the legendary center fielder with the 56-game hitting streak.

"Hopefully, there will be nobody who's going to break the streak," Father DiMaggio said.

Growing up with the name Joe DiMaggio was an honor, but it put a great deal of pressure on him whenever he stepped inside the batter's box.

"Every time I went up to bat in high school, if I struck out, which I usually did, people would say, 'Joe DiMaggio struck out,'" Father DiMaggio said.

As he got older, Father DiMaggio found out just how cool it was to share Joltin' Joe's name. "Every time I called for tickets to a show in New York City or a ballgame at Madison Square Garden, I would get the best seats in the house," he said.

Father DiMaggio saw Joltin' Joe play ball in person, but he later would get much closer to him. During a basketball game at the Garden, the two Joes actually sat next to each other, and Father DiMaggio recalled the surprise on the Yankee Clipper's face after he said, "Hi, my name's Joe DiMaggio. What's yours?"

Father DiMaggio pulled out his Visa and American Express cards to prove that he wasn't kidding about his name, and the priest and the ballplayer shared many laughs and shook hands after the game. "He was wonderful, always a gentleman," Father DiMaggio said.

Sharing a name with the Hall of Famer is quite a thrill for Father DiMaggio, and he owes his sporadic moments of celebrity to the man known as Joltin' Joe.

"I've had a great life and a lot of fun with my name because of him. He was truly a gentleman, and I don't think there will be another like him," he said.

(03-11-99) [[In-content Ad]]