Dominic DiMaggio, the bespectacled Boston Red Sox center fielder whose career was overshadowed by his older brother Joe's Hall of Fame career with the New York Yankees, has died at his Massachusetts home. He was 92.
DiMaggio died early Friday morning surrounded by his family, according to his wife, Emily. She did not give a cause of death but said that DiMaggio had been ill lately.
"He was the most wonderful, warm, loving man,'' his wife of 61 years said. "He adored his children, and we all adored him.''
DiMaggio was a seven-time All Star who still holds the record for the longest consecutive game hitting streak in Boston Red Sox history.
Known as the "Little Professor'' because of his eyeglasses and 5-foot-9, 168-pound frame, DiMaggio hit safely in 34 consecutive games in 1949. The streak was broken on Aug. 9 when his big brother caught a sinking liner in the eighth inning of a 6-3 Red Sox win over the Yankees.
The younger DiMaggio also had a 27-game hitting streak in 1951, which still ranks as the fifth longest in Red Sox history. Joe set the major league record with a 56-game hitting streak with the Yankees in 1941.
The oldest of the three center-field-playing DiMaggio brothers was Vince, who had a 10-year major league career with five National League teams. Joe died in March 1999, while Vince died in October 1986
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