“As a child in Ohio, I was only afraid of one man coming to town. Joe DiMaggio with the New York Yankees. I later met Mr. DiMaggio and found him to be a man of not only great talent, but also great dignity.”
– Roger Ailes
“There are certain people’s names that are reminders of what men can be like. To this day, when I hear the name Joe DiMaggio, it is so much more than a man’s name. It reminds me to play whatever game I’m in with more grace and pride and dignity…He is a man who speaks to us about how to walk through life and how to receive the admiration only the famous can know…and about how to wear defeat and disappointment as if it were just a passing storm. Men like Joe DiMaggio are not just of their own time. They are men for the ages.”
– Kevin Costner
“It wasn’t just his hitting streak, or even his all-around genius on the field, it was the way he conducted himself, the example he set for all of us. Joe DiMaggio was a ‘class act,’ a man of character.”
– George Bush, Former President of the United States
“He was in a world by himself. There was nobody who could take over a ballpark like he could…if you told me in 1938 that I would be Secretary of State, and I would be friends with DiMaggio, I would have thought the second was less likely than the first.”
– Henry Kissinger, Former Secretary of State
“There was never a guy like DiMaggio in baseball…Everybody wanted to meet Joe, to touch him, to be around him…Joe was a hero, a real legitimate hero…the way he plays, the way he works, the way he is, the way other people related to him…Joe could halt business on Fifth Avenue by walking down the street.”
– Toots Shor, New York Restaurateur
“Joe did everything so easily…You never saw him fall down or go diving for a ball. He didn’t have to. He just knew where the ball was hit and he went and got it.”
– Joe McCarthy, Yankee Manager
“Players just watched what he did and tried to imitate him. Everyone gravitated to him. Everybody wanted to be like him.”
– Phil Rizzuto, Yankee Shortstop
“Heroes are people who are all good with no bad in them. That’s the way I always saw Joe DiMaggio. He was beyond question one of the greatest players of the century.”
– Mickey Mantle
“In this century, there have been three baseball players who transcended their sport to become part of American legend. Where Babe Ruth was known for his power and Jackie Robinson was known for his courage, Joe DiMaggio was known for dignity and grace.”
– Vice President Al Gore
“I never saw him look bad and he made it look so easy.”
– Ted Williams
“There was a majesty in his swing, and a self-assured confidence in style and conduct that was uniquely Joe DiMaggio’s. In the eye of his public, he was more than a sports hero. He was among the most cherished icons of popular culture.”
– Ernest Hemingway, Great American Author
“I can describe Joe in one word: class. He was the most perfect ballplayer I ever saw, but he was a shy fellow. I’ll tell you something else though. When Joe DiMaggio walks into the clubhouse, the lights flicker. He’s the star.”
– Pete Sheehy, Former Yankee Clubhouse Manager
“Today, America lost one of the century’s most beloved heroes, Joe DiMaggio. This son of Italian immigrants gave every American something to believe in. He became the very symbol of American grace, power and skill. I have no doubt that when future generations look back at the best of America in the20th century, they will think of the Yankee Clipper and all that he achieved.”
– Former President Bill Clinton
“All of baseball is deeply saddened by the passing of the Yankee Clipper—Joe DiMaggio. For several generations of baseball fans, Joe was the personification of grace, class and dignity on the baseball diamond…As an immigrant’s son, he represented the hopes and ideals of our great country. Joe DiMaggio was a hero in the truest sense of the word.”
– Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig
“There was never a day when I was as good as Joe DiMaggio at his best. Joe was the best, the very best I ever saw.”
– Stan Musial