Joe DiMaggio's Real Name: Joe DiMaggio

Quick answer: The baseball player was known professionally as Joe DiMaggio. Encyclopaedia Britannica lists him as Joseph Paul DiMaggio, also called Joltin' Joe or the Yankee Clipper, born November 25, 1914, in Martinez, California. Biography.com independently gives the same date and birthplace but records the birth name as Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio. Both record his death on March 8, 1999, in Hollywood, Florida.

Real name and early life

Britannica gives the name Joseph Paul DiMaggio, born November 25, 1914, in Martinez, California. Biography.com independently uses the same date and city but says he was born Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio. The two sources give different longer forms. Both accounts say his parents were Italian immigrants. Biography.com names them Giuseppe and Rosalie DiMaggio, identifies him as the eighth child, and says the family moved to San Francisco's North Beach a year after his birth. Britannica says he quit school at 14 and at 17 joined his brother Vincent with the minor-league San Francisco Seals; Biography.com independently says older brother Vince was signed by the Seals and that Joe appeared in the last few games of 1932 before a full roster place in 1933.

Career highlights

Both sources say that in his 1933 season with the Seals he had a 61-game hitting streak, and that the New York Yankees then brought him to the majors. Biography.com dates the debut to May 3, 1936. Both say he batted .323 as a rookie and that the Yankees won the World Series that year. Britannica says he won American League batting titles in 1939 and 1940. Both record the 56-game hitting streak of May 15–July 16, 1941, and both say he helped the Yankees to nine World Series titles between 1936 and 1951. Britannica says he missed the 1943–45 seasons while serving in the military during World War II; Biography.com independently says he served in the United States Army during those three years. Both record American League Most Valuable Player awards in 1939, 1941, and 1947, retirement after the 1951 season, and election to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955. Biography.com also gives a career batting average of .325 and 361 home runs. Both say he married Marilyn Monroe in 1954 and that the marriage lasted less than a year, though they remained close until her death in 1962.

Death

Britannica records his death on March 8, 1999, in Hollywood, Florida. Biography.com independently gives the same date and, in its fact box, the same city, and says he died of complications of lung cancer at age 84.

Name notes for searchers

People looking up Joe DiMaggio, Joseph Paul DiMaggio, or Giuseppe Paolo DiMaggio are looking for the same player. The sources do not agree on the longer name form.