Quote:
Originally Posted by shelly
Your dad is not alone. Many people think that of Joe the player .
The problem is that your dad probably never meet him. If he had I would feel he would think differently of the man.
Here is a guy who never said he was sorry to Mantle. Here is a guy that at an old timers game would not sign an autograph for Moose Skoworn. Here is a guy that had a time limit when you had him at a show. If you had people in line he would get up and leave. Here is a guy that would only sign a few balls at a show and then have his buddy have booth that sold his autograph balls for him.
Yes he might have been a great ball player but not a great man.
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I can't argue with that. However, I looked to my father as an example of how a man comports himself. DiMaggio was just an example of a supremely talented baseball player nothing more nothing less. Manhood and manners have nothing to do with athletic greatness. It must have been a sad and lonely way for a baseball legend to navigate his way through his post baseball life.
On a lighter note, my dad loved Ted Williams as well. He tells me stories of how he and my uncle would sit in the leftfield stands at Municipal and call Teddy Ballgame names and boo him. He still laughs when describing how Williams would give them the finger or bend over to tie his shoes and then grab his ass in response to them. My dad claims that when Williams would respond in that manner he elevated himself in their young eyes. Based on those recollections perhaps my dad’s memory isn’t a very good barometer of 1940’s and 1950’s class.