Joe D and the Splinter

In 1941, two of baseball's greatest stars provided fans a summer to remember (just months before Pearl Harbor and US entry into WWII) and established two records that have yet to be surpassed.

Joe DiMaggio, stylish center-fielder for the NY Yankees who would eventually wed movie star Marilyn Monroe, hit in 56 straight games that season. Here are links to "The Streak" (excerpts from an interview with Kostya Kennedy who wrote a book on the streak) and "The Silent Season of a Hero (a classic sports essay on DiMaggio by Gay Talese).

Ted Williams, the "Splendid Splinter," hit .406 that season, the last player to bat over .400 for a season. Williams, a left-fielder with the Boston Red Sox, ended his career with 521 total homeruns and missed five seasons at the peak of his career for military service in WWII and the Korean War. Here is a link to a wonderful article on Teddy Ballgame ... "What do you think of Ted Williams now?"