Is this Joe DiMaggio?

[thekingofclout]

Barry posed this question in another thread and later suggested someone should start a poll. I agree with Barry. Here it is...

There's something very interesting about that photo. It was taken in San Francisco in the early 1930's. At that time Joe DiMaggio was a teenager living there, who would of course have been very interested in meeting a star like Ruth. Now look about three inches to the left of Babe, and down a tad. There's a boy in a cap looking at the camera. Doesn't that look like a young Joe D.?

So what do you think?

isthisjoeD.jpg

[Mr. Mitt]

Really not sure. The mouth, eyes and eyebrows sure do have his features. That said, I'm skeptical because if it were him, the experience of meeting Ruth during his teen years would have surfaced in some later interview.

[bigtrain]

I agree with Jerry. That is a rather well known photo. It appears as the endpaper of Creamer's excellent biography. I would think that if it were Joe D., that would have come up before now. That being said, there is a resemblance.

[perezfan]

He sure bears a strong resemblance, but I had to vote "not sure". If there was a discernable gap showing between his two front teeth, I would have voted "yes". But there was a vey strong Italian population in S.F. at the time, and at least hundreds of kids that age who would have loved to meet the Babe.

So there's just not enough evidence to definitively say, IMO. Guess it's one of those things that will forever remain a mystery...

[Butch7999]

We actually noticed DiMaggio (or the DiMaggio lookalike) in the photo even before we spotted the Babe, when the pic was first posted in the other thread, but we were beaten to the punch in commenting on it. The resemblance seems remarkable. Then again, a face can change a lot from age 12 or 14 to adulthood. Aren't there any available photos of the Clipper from his boyhood that might allow a better comparison?

[Ladder7]

... and the guy behind Joey is John Merrick

[Forever Young]

I went through my photos and think I found him all grows up trying to meet Babe's buddy Lou in 1939. What are the chances of three guys looking like....well....J.Dimaggio?

[JasonL]

I went with No, simply because I thought Joe D was a lot leaner as a youngster...I could certainly be way off, but my recollection of earlier photos have him with a slimmer face...angles are everything though...fascinating discovery. It's entirely possible, and odd that this doesn't happen more often in photos from earlier times. Because as well know, back then there just weren't all that many people!

[CarltonHendricks]

I think it looks so much like him, I'd almost say no question it's him. I'd bet a ribeye steak dinner it's him.

[barrysloate]

It's absolutely amazing how split the board is on this image. Some are sure it is, others are sure it isn't. Usually we have pretty universal agreement on a photograph, but this one has a life of its own.

[bmarlowe1]

If that price ($30,000) was realized based on that guy being Joe D. - the buyer almost certainly made a bad mistake, as it almost certainly is not him. That guy is more than old enough to compare his ear to that of an adult Joe D. - and as far as I can see, they do not match.

If I was advising a client on that photo - I would say only pay enough for the Babe Ruth part. If I was asked to authenticate it as being Joe D. - I would not.

I we can ever get that image in high res - Carlton will be buying me a steak.

[Anthony S.]

A similar angle. Compare and contrast.

[slidekellyslide]

Bob Pomilla over on the Card side already solved this one so you might owe him a steak dinner Carlton.

The photo was taken in 1922 when DiMag was only 8 years old and it was taken in New York City.

[CarltonHendricks]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

Bob Pomilla over on the Card side already solved this one so you might owe him a steak dinner Carlton.

The photo was taken in 1922 when DiMag was only 8 years old and it was taken in New York City.

Dan Send a link to the thread...let's take a look at the smoking gun

[olsport]

I voted no. Especially since an eight year old Joe "D" would not have been in New York at the game.

[slidekellyslide]

Carlton, here's a link that was provided on the other thread to the photo in the Getty Archives.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...26tbs%3Disch:1

[CarltonHendricks]

Originally Posted by slidekellyslide

Carlton, here's a link that was provided on the other thread to the photo in the Getty Archives.

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgu...26tbs%3Disch:1

OK, I guess he does look like he's about to get his drivers licence....and that wad of chewing tobacco under his lip doesn't help...but they did grow up early then...must have been his New York cousin...Jimmy DiMaggio