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The Private Thoughts of A Baseball Legend Can Be Yours For $1.5M+

Posted By: bruce DorskindDiaries echo DiMaggio's shyness; Whitey Ford fills in details By PAT MILTON, Associated Press Writer July 16, 2007 NEW YORK (AP) -- The diary entry is obscure: Befitting the famously guarded personality of Joltin' Joe DiMaggio, it bears only tantalizing hints about his life as a baseball hero and husband of Marilyn Monroe. April 28, 1989: "Up at 5 a.m. ... Book people felt me out with questions pertaining to baseball. Some part of my private life but not too strong on that. Will not reveal anything in a negative way towards Marilyn -- only books that have come out on her might have not been truthful." It takes a good friend -- for instance, Hall of Famer Whitey Ford -- to help flesh out the man behind the words. The entry is part of a 2,000-page, 29-volume collection of the New York Yankees icon's diaries, meticulously handwritten between 1982 and 1993, which are now being offered for sale. The pages, in plastic protective sheets, are contained in thick, black loose-leaf binders that were kept stacked in the closet of DiMaggio's lawyer. Other diary entries are also clipped and businesslike. DiMaggio was known for keeping his emotions to himself. "I really liked Joe. I know he was shy. But I got to know him better after we got out of baseball," said Ford, who was on hand Monday for the launch of the online auction. Ford was only 11 when his parents took him to the Yankee Stadium bleacher seats in the 1930s. "I saw Joe DiMaggio for the first time and from then on he was my hero." Brought up from the farm league to pitch for the Yankees, Ford's first game was July 1, 1950, at Fenway Park. "I got on the mound and I looked out at center field and I couldn't get over that this man I idolized was the center fielder," said Ford, adding that Boston got seven runs off him in the first few innings. "Mickey" -- yes, Mickey Mantle -- "and I were scared to death to speak to him," Ford said. "Marilyn was a nice lady." Ford recalled that once, when they were playing in St. Petersburg, Fla., DiMaggio brought Marilyn onto the field. "I went over and shook hands with her. Mickey was too shy. He didn't shake hands with her." That season the players and their families had beach bungalows together. Once word got out that Marilyn Monroe was on the beach, crowds appeared within minutes, surrounding the sunbathing couple. "I never felt so sorry for anyone in my life. They had to leave the beach immediately," recalled Ford. Later, Ford and DiMaggio lived in Florida and frequently golfed together. "He had a lot of class. He hung out with good people, was a great dresser and a little cheap," Ford said. And if you ever won money off DiMaggio, "It was pretty tough to collect it." The diaries reflect the demands on the Yankee Clipper and some of the pressures of his 56-game hitting streak. "If I thought this would be taking place," Joe DiMaggio laments in a diary entry about the public relations frenzy, "I would have stopped the hitting streak at 40." "Traveling getting to be damn much," he wrote in 1987. Noted another entry: "Plane food should be fed to pigs." But there was plenty of pomp and circumstance, including a White House dinner hosted by President Reagan for Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev. "After dinner, proceeded to another room to hear Van Cliburn play. Mrs. Gorbachev requested a song that Cliburn played and Mrs. Gorbachev sang along," wrote DiMaggio. "Had to buy a new shirt because neck size down to 15 1/2 ." On July 16, 1941, DiMaggio extended his hitting streak to 56 games as Yankees beat the Cleveland Indians 10-3. The Hall of Fame center fielder, who played for the Yankees from 1936 to 1951, died in 1999. The bidding on the diaries is to begin at $1.5 million; the auction, by Steiner Sports Marketing, closes July 25. How does Ford think DiMaggio would feel about his diaries being made public? "I don't think he would be too tickled about it."

The Private Thoughts of A Baseball Legend Can Be Yours For $1.5M+

Posted By: denniswonder if the winner (if there is one)intends to try to get it published,kind of a large reserve.if it were from his playing days it would sell,and be a great read!

The Private Thoughts of A Baseball Legend Can Be Yours For $1.5M+

Posted By: Jeff LichtmanIt doesn't seem like the 'diary' is filled with much intimate detail (at least interesting detail) into DiMag's thinking or playing days. I'd be surprised if it sells for that opening price. Just another greedy lawyer abusing the trust Joe had in him.

The Private Thoughts of A Baseball Legend Can Be Yours For $1.5M+

Posted By: barrysloateIn the article I read, a passage was cited where Joe mentions he spent the day at a Bowery Bank signing autographs. I only met and talked to Joe once- at a Bowery Savings Bank in Brooklyn around 1987. I wonder if that day made it into these journals. It did sound very mundane and not worth a fraction of that price, but somebody with too much money will probably buy it anyhow.

The Private Thoughts of A Baseball Legend Can Be Yours For $1.5M+

Posted By: judson hamlinWill they be published in Der Spiegel?

The Private Thoughts of A Baseball Legend Can Be Yours For $1.5M+

Posted By: peter chaoThe excerpts I've read aren't very revealing about Joltin Joe. I don't know how they managed to put together 29 volumes, there must be a lot of commentary there by Whitey Ford. It's probably going to be more interesting to see how future writers will use the diary as a reference. Peter

The Private Thoughts of A Baseball Legend Can Be Yours For $1.5M+

Posted By: MVSNYCpeter- you said, "I don't know how they managed to put together 29 volumes..." there are almost 6000 days between 1983-1999. that's how you get 2000 pages and 29 volumes from a daily dairy. nonetheless, sounds boring.

The Private Thoughts of A Baseball Legend Can Be Yours For $1.5M+

Posted By: P.Spaethwho owns the diaries now? is it morris goldberg?

The Private Thoughts of A Baseball Legend Can Be Yours For $1.5M+

Posted By: Cobby33Wonder if any of the diary entries reveal the inspiration of the song, "You're So Vein."

The Private Thoughts of A Baseball Legend Can Be Yours For $1.5M+

Posted By: JosephThis stuff has been way overvalued (at a $600 per piece opening bid) by the seller, methinks. When Hunt Auctions ran their DiMaggio "estate" auction last year, far more interesting handwritten pieces were going for less money. Some of them were even autographed and most of the diary pieces seemingly are not. AND the market would now be flooded. Were the diaries interesting, they might have some value to a publisher, but, of course, the pages are quite pedestrian. No, I think these are being floated out there looking for a sucker, that is, a re-seller who thinks big money could be made by selling piecemeal. But why wouldn't Steiner do this? Isn't this what they do?

The Private Thoughts of A Baseball Legend Can Be Yours For $1.5M+

Posted By: Glen VTopps could have diary insert cards for years... <img src="/images/sad.gif" height=14 width=14>

The Private Thoughts of A Baseball Legend Can Be Yours For $1.5M+

Posted By: peter chaoJoe, Don't say it too loud...the card companies may hear you, then we'll see pieces of diary pages in next year's Upper Deck. <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14> Peter

The Private Thoughts of A Baseball Legend Can Be Yours For $1.5M+

Posted By: jay wolt"that's how you get 2000 pages and 29 volumes from a daily dairy" I suppose the winning bidder will try to market these diaries page by page. After all as stated the info isn't that exciting or revealing. Just a day by day account of a 70ish yeal old man 35-40 years removed from his playing days. But even at $100 a page, the 2000 pages will equal $200,000 So to pay $1.5 million or higher it seems steep at a cost of almost $1000 a page to the winning bidder.

The Private Thoughts of A Baseball Legend Can Be Yours For $1.5M+

Posted By: BobFrom the excerpts I have seen the book offers absolutely nothing to DiMaggio's legacy. Monday June 4th I got up this morning, fixed some toast and drank a glass of orange juice and then read the paper. Tuesday June 5th Went to the clothing store to see about buying a new suit. Blah, blah, blah ad nauseum.....

The Private Thoughts of A Baseball Legend Can Be Yours For $1.5M+

Posted By: JoshMaybe there's a part in there about Joe going to Dinky's Donuts. Sorry, couldn't resist.

The Private Thoughts of A Baseball Legend Can Be Yours For $1.5M+

Posted By: peter chaoNow if there were some steamy details about Joe and Marilyn, the starting bid would be $5,000,000 and the hammer price would be through the roof. <img src="/images/happy.gif" height=14 width=14> Peter

The Private Thoughts of A Baseball Legend Can Be Yours For $1.5M+

Posted By: DMcD"Mickey was too shy. He didn't shake hands with her." <img src="http://www.network54.com/Realm/July07/Mantle_Monroe.jpg">