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?

BTW... I also started the same Poll on the Memorabilia Side.

isthisjoeD.jpg

[barrysloate]

Thanks Jimmy for setting this up.

[nyyanksghr]

WOW. Having viewed this photo many times, I have never noticed Joe D. in the shot. This doesn't seem to be a stretch at all. My vote is YES, it is Joe DiMaggio.

[barrysloate]

Fascinating so far. As of 9:00 we have 7 yes, 7 no, and 5 unsure. That means with 19 people voting we have no determination whatsoever. It goes to show how difficult photo identification is; different eyes see things differently.

[Jay Wolt]

Hard to determine. There's a couple of kids that look like Dimag, from the intended one
3" away to the one leaning on the Babe

[barrysloate]

At 9:53 it's still tied at 9-9-11. I actually find that statistic more interesting than whether or not it is Joe. Half of us who had an opinion are wrong. That I know with certainty.

[bmarlowe1]

Originally Posted by barrysloate

Fascinating so far. As of 9:00 we have 7 yes, 7 no, and 5 unsure....different eyes see things differently.

If people depend on the inherent facial recognition circuitry in the brain (a specific area known as the fusiform gyrus) - you will get just that kind of mixed poll result seen here. That speaks to the high unreliability of doing it that way.

The fusiform gyrus is quite amazing, it's like magic - it allows one to recognize faces without actually memorizing them. Try recognizing people by their ears - it can be done, but it requires a substantial mental effort and memorization. If you meet Barry, you don't have to consciously memorize his face - it's all magically automatic.

The problem is, the fusiform gyrus is easily fooled. That's why quite a number of people have made a living imitating Geo. W. Bush. So here's another poll - which of these guys is the real W? (note - this choice of subject reflects no political intent - there are just so many of these guys).

[3-2-count]

Mark,
My vote is none of em' are.

[thekingofclout]

Originally Posted by bmarlowe1

If people depend on the inherent facial recognition circuitry in the brain (a specific area known as the fusiform gyrus) - you will get just that kind of mixed poll result seen here. That speaks to the high unreliability of doing it that way.

The fusiform gyrus is quite amazing, it's like magic - it allows one to recognize faces without actually memorizing them. Try recognizing people by their ears - it can be done, but it requires a substantial mental effort and memorization. If you meet Barry, you don't have to consciously memorize his face - it's all magically automatic.

The problem is, the fusiform gyrus is easily fooled. That's why quite a number of people have made a living imitating Geo. W. Bush. So here's another poll - which of these guys is the real W? (note - this choice of subject reflects no political intent - there are just so many of these guys).

Allright Mark, I'll take you on your word about all of that. Wow, that is way over my head. I'm nowhere near smart enough to understand what ever it is you just said!

However, I've run the Blackjack section at Commerce Casino here in LA where we have more table games than any casino in the world, and where more than 8,000 people play in our casino everyday.

Since 1987 I've met maybe several hundred thousand people and probably know 10,000 -15,000 of them by name, and not once, have I ever recognized anyone by their ears. Just not practical in the real world.

So I guess that my "fusiform gyrus" isn't as easily fooled as the next guy. Which is very lucky for me or I wouldn't have a job...


My best regards, Jimmy

[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.

[barrysloate]

It's not clear that if that is Joe he actually met Ruth. Given the size of the crowd, he may have done no more than get close to him. That would have been fun but not memorable enough to document in an interview or biography. If you were walking down the street and saw a celebrity pass by, you might make note of it but not consider it a memorable experience.

[Anthony S.]

I say no. For starters, Joe had a significant gap between his two front teeth that this kid doesn't have. Also, the kid's nose isn't very prominent, it seems almost pugg-ish compared to Joe's long nose. Big noses tend to appear more exaggerated in kids than adults, not the other way around.

The ears I will leave to the master.

Also, San Francisco had about 750,000 people in the 1930's. There would have been about 150,000 kids that would have killed to see Babe Ruth.

[D. Bergin]

Only Joe's mother knows for sure.

[Anthony S.]

I'm wondering if the kid two rows behind the "dimaggio kid" and slightly to the left (you can't see the kid's mouth, just his hat, round head and close set eyes) was the basis for Charlie Brown.

[kkkkandp]

I suppose it all depends on how one defines the word "met," but according to the book Mickey Mantle: America's Prodigal Son Joe Dimaggio didn't meet Babe Ruth until after Babe's career was over and Joe's was just starting.

Of course, the book could be wrong, too, but the source of the quote was DiMaggio's biographer, so it is likely to be accurate.

http://tinyurl.com/ygx3anz