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56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports
Winner of the 2011 CASEY Award from Spitball Magazine
Seventy baseball seasons ago, on a May afternoon at Yankee Stadium, Joe DiMaggio lined a hard single to leftfield. It was the quiet beginning to the most resonant baseball achievement of all time. Starting that day, the vaunted Yankee centerfielder kept on hitting-at least one hit in game after game after game.
In the summer of 1941, as Nazi forces moved relentlessly across Europe and young American men were drafted by the millions, it seemed only a matter of time before the U.S. went to war. The nation was apprehensive. Yet for two months in that tense summer, America was captivated by DiMaggio's astonishing hitting streak. In 56, Kostya Kennedy tells the remarkable story of how the streak found its way into countless lives, from the Italian kitchens of Newark to the playgrounds of Queens to the San Francisco streets of North Beach; from the Oval Office of FDR to the Upper West Side apartment where Joe's first wife, Dorothy, the movie starlet, was expecting a child. In this crisp, evocative narrative Joe DiMaggio emerges in a previously unseen light, a 26-year-old on the cusp of becoming an icon. He comes alive-a driven ballplayer, a mercurial star and a conflicted husband-as the tension and the scrutiny upon him build with each passing day.
DiMaggio's achievement lives on as the greatest of sports records. Alongside the story of DiMaggio's dramatic quest, Kennedy deftly examines the peculiar nature of hitting streaks and with an incisive, modern-day perspective gets inside the number itself, as its sheer improbability heightens both the math and the magic of 56 games in a row.
Seventy baseball seasons ago, on a May afternoon at Yankee Stadium, Joe DiMaggio lined a hard single to leftfield. It was the quiet beginning to the most resonant baseball achievement of all time. Starting that day, the vaunted Yankee centerfielder kept on hitting-at least one hit in game after game after game.
In the summer of 1941, as Nazi forces moved relentlessly across Europe and young American men were drafted by the millions, it seemed only a matter of time before the U.S. went to war. The nation was apprehensive. Yet for two months in that tense summer, America was captivated by DiMaggio's astonishing hitting streak. In 56, Kostya Kennedy tells the remarkable story of how the streak found its way into countless lives, from the Italian kitchens of Newark to the playgrounds of Queens to the San Francisco streets of North Beach; from the Oval Office of FDR to the Upper West Side apartment where Joe's first wife, Dorothy, the movie starlet, was expecting a child. In this crisp, evocative narrative Joe DiMaggio emerges in a previously unseen light, a 26-year-old on the cusp of becoming an icon. He comes alive-a driven ballplayer, a mercurial star and a conflicted husband-as the tension and the scrutiny upon him build with each passing day.
DiMaggio's achievement lives on as the greatest of sports records. Alongside the story of DiMaggio's dramatic quest, Kennedy deftly examines the peculiar nature of hitting streaks and with an incisive, modern-day perspective gets inside the number itself, as its sheer improbability heightens both the math and the magic of 56 games in a row.
368 pages, Hardcover
First published March 8, 2011
73 people are currently reading
874 people want to read
About the author
Kostya Kennedy
20 books70 followersKOSTYA KENNEDY is the Editor in Chief of Premium Publishing at Dotdash Meredith. A former Senior Writer and Editor at Sports Illustrated, he is the author of the forthcoming book The Ride: Paul Revere and the Night That Saved America as well as True: The Four Seasons of Jackie Robinson, the New York Times bestsellers 56: Joe DiMaggio and the Last Magic Number in Sports, and Pete Rose: An American Dilemma. All three books won the CASEY Award for Best Baseball Book of the Year. He has taught at Columbia and New York University, and he lives in Westchester County, New York.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 102 reviews
April 27, 2025
I started my love affair with reading over a half century ago (!) and one of the topics that helped most to propel my journey was reading books on vintage baseball (basically that gilded age of the 1920s-1950s). I still recall being enthralled with the “Fireside Book of Baseball” Volumes I and II in my youth that I received for Christmas.
So coming full circle in reading Kostya Kennedy’s “56” was a magical moment, enabling me to recapture a youthful period of life. The subject at hand is Joe DiMaggio’s seemingly highly improbable attainment of hitting safely (securing a base) in 56 consecutive games. On the surface, this may seem more obtainable than Ted Williams’ procurement of a .406 batting average that same season (still the last player to accomplish such). After all, a player doesn’t HAVE to hit 56 straight singles, doubles, homers—he just has to obtain ONE HIT in each consecutive game.
But as Kennedy points out, citing statistical analyses by mathematicians and physicists who studied DiMaggio’s feat, it turns out that the record he established is so insanely improbable that it has been estimated that even if baseball should be played for another 700 years it is very unlikely the record will be surpassed. So is it any wonder that fans (whether Yankee supporters or non-supporters alike) flocked to stadiums in that seminal season of 1941 and at least viscerally understood that Joe’s quest to surpass the prior record of 44 games with a hit was something that would find itself becoming the record of records in the annals of Americas “favorite pastime”? Crazier still, in a “Ripley’s Believe it or Not!” fashion is the fact that in the minor leagues, age 18, DiMaggio hit safely in SIXTY-ONE consecutive games in 1933 with the SF Seals (!). If the probability of an otherwise exceptional hitter like DiMaggio to garner a base hit or better in 56 straight games works out mathematically to .0015% as Kennedy’s sources assert, just imagine the likelihood of attaining the TOP TWO positions over baseball’s 135+ year history…
But the book is more than just about Joe Dimaggio’s surreal record—we also gain considerable insight into a a complex individual who was at turns a brooding, stoical and “nerdy” individual who was quite suddenly catapulted into superstardom—to such an extent that the countdown to his record provided newspaper headline grabbing material on par with Hitler’s Wehrmacht and Operation Barbarossa (the highly worrisome invasion of Russia) which simultaneously took hold in June 1941. The passages on Joe’s first wife, actress Dorothy Arnold, a socialite and cosmopolitan lady extraordinaire makes for interesting reading in light of to what degree a wallflower Joe was. Also fascinating are the colorful NY Yankee teammates, particularly pitcher Lefty Gomez, Rizzuto and Henrich. The section on the “changing of the guard” as it were, where Lou Gehrig’s career was tragically severed by ALS is both touching and poignant. (DiMaggio emerged on the scene very near the time Gehrig’s career ended).
Kennedy’s book has certainly now whetted my appetite for other colorful baseball players from an illustrious and bygone era.
So coming full circle in reading Kostya Kennedy’s “56” was a magical moment, enabling me to recapture a youthful period of life. The subject at hand is Joe DiMaggio’s seemingly highly improbable attainment of hitting safely (securing a base) in 56 consecutive games. On the surface, this may seem more obtainable than Ted Williams’ procurement of a .406 batting average that same season (still the last player to accomplish such). After all, a player doesn’t HAVE to hit 56 straight singles, doubles, homers—he just has to obtain ONE HIT in each consecutive game.
But as Kennedy points out, citing statistical analyses by mathematicians and physicists who studied DiMaggio’s feat, it turns out that the record he established is so insanely improbable that it has been estimated that even if baseball should be played for another 700 years it is very unlikely the record will be surpassed. So is it any wonder that fans (whether Yankee supporters or non-supporters alike) flocked to stadiums in that seminal season of 1941 and at least viscerally understood that Joe’s quest to surpass the prior record of 44 games with a hit was something that would find itself becoming the record of records in the annals of Americas “favorite pastime”? Crazier still, in a “Ripley’s Believe it or Not!” fashion is the fact that in the minor leagues, age 18, DiMaggio hit safely in SIXTY-ONE consecutive games in 1933 with the SF Seals (!). If the probability of an otherwise exceptional hitter like DiMaggio to garner a base hit or better in 56 straight games works out mathematically to .0015% as Kennedy’s sources assert, just imagine the likelihood of attaining the TOP TWO positions over baseball’s 135+ year history…
But the book is more than just about Joe Dimaggio’s surreal record—we also gain considerable insight into a a complex individual who was at turns a brooding, stoical and “nerdy” individual who was quite suddenly catapulted into superstardom—to such an extent that the countdown to his record provided newspaper headline grabbing material on par with Hitler’s Wehrmacht and Operation Barbarossa (the highly worrisome invasion of Russia) which simultaneously took hold in June 1941. The passages on Joe’s first wife, actress Dorothy Arnold, a socialite and cosmopolitan lady extraordinaire makes for interesting reading in light of to what degree a wallflower Joe was. Also fascinating are the colorful NY Yankee teammates, particularly pitcher Lefty Gomez, Rizzuto and Henrich. The section on the “changing of the guard” as it were, where Lou Gehrig’s career was tragically severed by ALS is both touching and poignant. (DiMaggio emerged on the scene very near the time Gehrig’s career ended).
Kennedy’s book has certainly now whetted my appetite for other colorful baseball players from an illustrious and bygone era.
May 5, 2014
A great baseball book, capturing nicely the day to day rhythm of the game, with the added element of an unlikely streak and the building pressure that the streak created. The book does a very nice job of juxtaposing the world events of 1941 on the baseball events, giving insight not only into the game but also into the feeling of a nation as the world slipped into war.
I was particularly interested in the snapshots into individual games along the way - the game relatively early in the streak where the decision sat with the official scorer at Yankee stadium - was a ball that took a bad bounce a hit or an error? Or the two or three games where the manager allowed DiMaggio to swing away on 3-0 counts, allowing him to get another hit in the streak. The one or two games where they went against standard baseball strategy to give the streak a chance. The 22 yr old pitcher who defied his manager's orders to walk DiMaggio to break the streak - and of course DiMaggio came through. And how close his last at bat was to being a hit, which could have lead the streak to be 73, as he promptly went on another 18 game streak.
Through it all, incidentally, Joe DiMaggio remained pretty enigmatic, I know more about what he did and how he acted, but not much about what he thought But that's not the book, it was him.
This is one book where I did have a concrete thought about what would have made the book better. The edition I had printed the title on the side in the margin in a very opaque font. Rather than that, however, or perhaps in addition to that, I would have loved for them to have printed the number that represented where he was in the streak on each page. I think that is a little gimmick that would have added to the tension as the book wore on, letting you know where he was and how many he still had to go.
I was particularly interested in the snapshots into individual games along the way - the game relatively early in the streak where the decision sat with the official scorer at Yankee stadium - was a ball that took a bad bounce a hit or an error? Or the two or three games where the manager allowed DiMaggio to swing away on 3-0 counts, allowing him to get another hit in the streak. The one or two games where they went against standard baseball strategy to give the streak a chance. The 22 yr old pitcher who defied his manager's orders to walk DiMaggio to break the streak - and of course DiMaggio came through. And how close his last at bat was to being a hit, which could have lead the streak to be 73, as he promptly went on another 18 game streak.
Through it all, incidentally, Joe DiMaggio remained pretty enigmatic, I know more about what he did and how he acted, but not much about what he thought But that's not the book, it was him.
This is one book where I did have a concrete thought about what would have made the book better. The edition I had printed the title on the side in the margin in a very opaque font. Rather than that, however, or perhaps in addition to that, I would have loved for them to have printed the number that represented where he was in the streak on each page. I think that is a little gimmick that would have added to the tension as the book wore on, letting you know where he was and how many he still had to go.
April 4, 2011
A great read, especially this time of year when baseball fever hits. The most interesting aspect of the book was learning how the American people followed the incredible 56 game hitting streak while at the same time dealing with the very serious problems brewing over in Europe (Summer of 1941).
July 7, 2023
Many baseball books suffer from being written by a fan or family member rather than a professional writer. This is not an issue for this one.
The author masterfully weaves in stories around Joe D and his hit streak. This was a quick, easy, and enjoyable read.
The author masterfully weaves in stories around Joe D and his hit streak. This was a quick, easy, and enjoyable read.
July 22, 2013
Sports records and streaks no longer captivate the country the way they once did. For one reason, performance enhancing drugs have both tainted their mystique and increased the frequency of their being broken. One wonders whether the recordbooks of the future will have multiple asterisks next to every entry. But Joe DiMaggio's streak in 1941 of 56 consecutive games with at least one hit will likely stand forever. It also came at precisely the time when our worried nation needed a distraction from the looming war and a cause to rally around American exceptionalism.
Kennedy's book succeeds on a number of levels. It digs into DiMaggio's personality and character, provides glimpses into the lives of his teammates, previous record holders, and future record chasers (e.g., Gehrig, Sisler, and Rose), and shows just how fervently the American public followed the details of Joe's magical streak. Kennedy even crunches the numbers at the end to illustrate how improbable the streak was and why it will almost certainly never be toppled. (But of course, we should never say never in sports.)
Kennedy's book succeeds on a number of levels. It digs into DiMaggio's personality and character, provides glimpses into the lives of his teammates, previous record holders, and future record chasers (e.g., Gehrig, Sisler, and Rose), and shows just how fervently the American public followed the details of Joe's magical streak. Kennedy even crunches the numbers at the end to illustrate how improbable the streak was and why it will almost certainly never be toppled. (But of course, we should never say never in sports.)
January 5, 2015
Joe DiMaggio probably wasn't the Greatest Living Ballplayer when that vote was taken in 1969. A better case can be made for Ted Williams, Mickey Mantle, or Willie Mays. If you are going by career numbers as opposed to a player at his peak, you can add Stan Musial to that group. But you can make the argument that DiMaggio was better than his numbers for intangible reasons (I don't buy this argument,) or that he would have been better in another era or another park.
That doesn't mean that he wasn't great. And his streak was one of the biggest baseball stories of the last century. Kostya Kennedy's book is less a biography of DiMaggio, and more of a look at that streak as the US was on the cusp of entering World War II.
Uneven. When Kennedy stuck to baseball and DiMaggio's hitting streak, it flowed well. But when he digressed about the outside world, the passages were often flat and I skimmed them.
One thing struck me as odd. Kennedy mentions a young Gay Talese following the streak, yet he fails to mention Talese's famous article on a post-baseball DiMaggio. “The Silent Season of the Hero” was one of the early exemplars of New Journalism.
That doesn't mean that he wasn't great. And his streak was one of the biggest baseball stories of the last century. Kostya Kennedy's book is less a biography of DiMaggio, and more of a look at that streak as the US was on the cusp of entering World War II.
Uneven. When Kennedy stuck to baseball and DiMaggio's hitting streak, it flowed well. But when he digressed about the outside world, the passages were often flat and I skimmed them.
One thing struck me as odd. Kennedy mentions a young Gay Talese following the streak, yet he fails to mention Talese's famous article on a post-baseball DiMaggio. “The Silent Season of the Hero” was one of the early exemplars of New Journalism.
August 3, 2013
If it weren't for Cleveland's 3rd baseman playing DiMaggio to pull this book may have been titled "73". Kennedy, despite more than a few grammar problems with words left out of sentences and a bit too much talk of the kids imitating the Yankee Clipper in NYC stickball games, does a good job discussing the 56 game hitting streak and its historical and statistical context. By any numerical analysis, it's a complete aberration. No one else has come within 12 games. However, when you factor in that DiMaggio hit in 61 consecutive games in the minors it seems that he was uniquely suited to put something together like this, as the Yankees looked for their 5th title in 6 years, and as Ted Williams hit .406, Lou Gehrig passed away, and young men all over the country were being drafted as the U.S. entering WWII became an inevitability.
December 27, 2011
I enjoyed the book. It very effectively details one of the incredible athletic achievements of our time, and does so against the backdrop of pre-WWII United States. This seems to be the definitive treatment of "the streak," and the author's details, research and writing style serve the book very effectively. I found myself fascinated by the differences and (yes) similarities between the ball players of 1941 and those of today. This is a great baseball book that fully describes the record "that will never be broken."
May 6, 2016
(2). This is almost a 4 star baseball book, but for general reading it certainly doesn't rate that well. The DiMaggio story is fascinating, but there is so much lost in the correlations and development of the war effort, his relationship with his wife and his unique idiosyncrasies outside of baseball. I'm glad I read it, as the details on the hit streak were terrific, but Joe will remain a sort of neurotic weirdo in my mind regardless of his amazing prowress on the diamond. The analysis of data and probabilities in the last 30 or so pages were just downright boring.
May 4, 2011
As a rule, I do not read a lot of sports books because I find most of them to be boring. However, this book covers the 56-game hitting streak of Joe DiMaggio but it's more than just a game-by-game recap. The author really sets the scene of life in 1941. I enjoyed this book a lot! It took me just two days to read it. Even though I hate the Yankees, I loved "56—Joe DiMaggio And The Last Magic Number In Sports." If you are a baseball fan, I think you will love this one too!
March 22, 2014
This book is about Joe DiMaggio’s 56 game hitting streak that encompassed games played between May 15th and July 16th, 1941. Between those dates Joe DiMaggio got at least one hit in every game, a record no one has even come close to breaking since.
Everything in this work uses “the streak” as its anchor point. If you keep that in mind you won’t be disappointed at not getting a fuller biography of Joe DiMaggio, or salacious details of his marriage to Marilyn Monroe, or a wider discussion of baseball in the 1940s, or of the Yankees 1941 season, or of issues surrounding the impending WWII. You will get some of all of that, but only as it relates to “the streak.”
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Kennedy’s goal is to place “the streak” in the context of what was happening in the country at this time, how it affected the mood of the country, how it affected Joe DiMaggio himself, and how it influenced baseball and the wider culture in later years. In this he does a good job.
Kennedy sprinkles his book with a number of vignettes that he uses to illustrate the feeling around the country as DiMaggio approached George Sisler’s record of 41 straight games with at least one hit. He makes very good use of writings by well known personalities such as Mario Cuomo and Gay Talese, newspaper accounts, newsreel footage, and later interviews to paint an overall portrait of the country as it grew increasingly obsessed with DiMaggio’s streak. My only complaint here is that sometimes he would place these vignettes in such a way as to ruin the momentum of a previous narrative. A couple of times I was really getting into his description of a particular game for example, and just as he was getting to the climax of the narrative, he would divert to another related story. I have to admit it kind of ticked me off a bit. :)
While the book is not meant to be a definitive biography of Joe DiMaggio, he does go into those details that impact his reaction to “the streak,” and which help explain his reactions as it grew longer. These were fascinating and left me wanting more. There are a couple of excellent DiMaggio biographies that I will probably add to my “bucket list” now that I have read this book.
Kennedy also does a good job recounting DiMaggio’s relationship with his first wife, actress Dorothy Arnold, and how “the streak” affected their relationship and may have helped hasten their eventual divorce. Sections describing how DiMaggio lived his day to day life in New York – where he ate, where he got his hair cut, and who he befriended – were also very engaging. DiMaggio found comfort and familiarity among New York’s Italian population which made it easier for him to withstand the pressure of being a New York Yankee.
My favorite parts of the book were Kennedy’s description of the games themselves, and the biographical details of other players that affected, or were affected by, “the streak.” As a sports writer he has a particular talent for placing you in that place and time. But again, the interrupting vignettes tended to stop the momentum of these passages. I wish there had either been less of these, or they had been placed differently. I also liked the ancillary biographies of some of the other players that played a role in ”the streak” including George Sisler who held the modern day record before DiMaggio, “Wee Willy” Keeler who held the all time record, Lou Gehrig who mentored DiMaggio and whose death during the season had a big impact on him, DiMaggio’s brother Dom DiMaggio, a very good player himself, and Ted Williams who was the other big story of that season as he strived to bat over .400. He was successful and is still the last player to do so. All of this was deftly handled. I found myself on numerous occasions interrupting my reading to look these folks up on Wikipedia and then noting if any biographies were available on their lives.
Kennedy also devoted a whole chapter on Pete Rose, who in 1978 came closer to DiMaggio’s streak than any player since 1941. In that year Rose hit in 44 straight games, breaking or tying every record previous to DiMaggio’s. It is very clear from the narrative that Kennedy is a fan of Rose, and I have to confess it convinced me to change my opinion on Rose’s banning from baseball. I now think it should be lifted. A topic for another time…perhaps after reading Kennedy’s biography of Rose :)
Kennedy also does a nice job of placing “the streak” in the context of the buildup for war that was taking place. It was only two months after the end of the 1941 season that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Players were being drafted and several, including the great Hank Greenberg had already started their tours of duty. For those two months, DiMaggio’s streak and Hitler’s march through Europe competed for the headlines. Implied in this narrative is that “the streak” helped keep the country sane by sometimes diverting its attention from the ominous developments overseas to an event everyone could participate in.
He also does an effective job looking at how ”the streak” is viewed in modern culture. It has become a commonly used analogy whenever some impressive record is about to be broken. He also talks a lot about how modern baseball players view “the streak”, and how it helps connect them to baseball’s history. And, Kennedy is right in that the DiMaggio’s streak is really the last pure record to be broken in baseball. Ruth and Aaron’s home run records were revered, as was Roger Maris’ single season home run record. All of those are now tainted because they were broken by players pumped up on steroids and human growth hormone. Gehrig’s consecutive game streak was at that level as well until it was broken by Cal Ripken. Ripken’s streak may eventually be viewed in that light as well given the type of man he was. But none of these approaches the reverence that DiMaggio’s streak is accorded. Most think it will never be broken. I agree.
Kennedy sometimes went overboard with his narrative. Often, his descriptions of events ventured into the maudlin, particularly those related to a “gang” of boys – the Hornets and the Dukes – in Jackson Heights New York, who played street ball and whose obsession was baseball. While I understand including them in the narrative, the prose surrounding them often became too maudlin even for a book about baseball. It read like a Frank Capra script…only more sentimental if that is possible. With this and some other vignettes he really distracted from the overall flow of the book.
Other times he would spend a lot of ink on seemingly trivial events like the songs sung before a game early in the season which included two pages of the songs lyrics. Sometimes the analogies he used made it appear he had just done a Google search and found something he had to include in the book. The one that made my eyes roll the most was in a section where he was describing how “the streak” is now viewed with reverence in modern day locker rooms, and that “it was a bit like saying ‘Harding’s ascent’ to a group of rock climbers at Yosemite, or ‘Escoffier’s soufflé’ among young chefs at a culinary institute.”
Now, I suppose it is conceivable as a sportswriter that Kennedy may know who first climbed El Capitan at Yosemite park (I had to Google it), but it is simply not believable to think he had any idea who Escoffier was or what role he played in the history of the soufflé. Even if he did, it sounds pretentious…and ridiculous.
Anyway, as an ardent baseball fan I really enjoyed this book. It succeeded in making me want more information about the people and events he describes…the hallmark of a good work of non-fiction. Non-baseball fans may enjoy it too as it touches on events outside the confines of baseball as they related to or were affected by, “the streak.”
Highly Recommended!!!
Everything in this work uses “the streak” as its anchor point. If you keep that in mind you won’t be disappointed at not getting a fuller biography of Joe DiMaggio, or salacious details of his marriage to Marilyn Monroe, or a wider discussion of baseball in the 1940s, or of the Yankees 1941 season, or of issues surrounding the impending WWII. You will get some of all of that, but only as it relates to “the streak.”
I enjoyed this book quite a bit. Kennedy’s goal is to place “the streak” in the context of what was happening in the country at this time, how it affected the mood of the country, how it affected Joe DiMaggio himself, and how it influenced baseball and the wider culture in later years. In this he does a good job.
Kennedy sprinkles his book with a number of vignettes that he uses to illustrate the feeling around the country as DiMaggio approached George Sisler’s record of 41 straight games with at least one hit. He makes very good use of writings by well known personalities such as Mario Cuomo and Gay Talese, newspaper accounts, newsreel footage, and later interviews to paint an overall portrait of the country as it grew increasingly obsessed with DiMaggio’s streak. My only complaint here is that sometimes he would place these vignettes in such a way as to ruin the momentum of a previous narrative. A couple of times I was really getting into his description of a particular game for example, and just as he was getting to the climax of the narrative, he would divert to another related story. I have to admit it kind of ticked me off a bit. :)
While the book is not meant to be a definitive biography of Joe DiMaggio, he does go into those details that impact his reaction to “the streak,” and which help explain his reactions as it grew longer. These were fascinating and left me wanting more. There are a couple of excellent DiMaggio biographies that I will probably add to my “bucket list” now that I have read this book.
Kennedy also does a good job recounting DiMaggio’s relationship with his first wife, actress Dorothy Arnold, and how “the streak” affected their relationship and may have helped hasten their eventual divorce. Sections describing how DiMaggio lived his day to day life in New York – where he ate, where he got his hair cut, and who he befriended – were also very engaging. DiMaggio found comfort and familiarity among New York’s Italian population which made it easier for him to withstand the pressure of being a New York Yankee.
My favorite parts of the book were Kennedy’s description of the games themselves, and the biographical details of other players that affected, or were affected by, “the streak.” As a sports writer he has a particular talent for placing you in that place and time. But again, the interrupting vignettes tended to stop the momentum of these passages. I wish there had either been less of these, or they had been placed differently. I also liked the ancillary biographies of some of the other players that played a role in ”the streak” including George Sisler who held the modern day record before DiMaggio, “Wee Willy” Keeler who held the all time record, Lou Gehrig who mentored DiMaggio and whose death during the season had a big impact on him, DiMaggio’s brother Dom DiMaggio, a very good player himself, and Ted Williams who was the other big story of that season as he strived to bat over .400. He was successful and is still the last player to do so. All of this was deftly handled. I found myself on numerous occasions interrupting my reading to look these folks up on Wikipedia and then noting if any biographies were available on their lives.
Kennedy also devoted a whole chapter on Pete Rose, who in 1978 came closer to DiMaggio’s streak than any player since 1941. In that year Rose hit in 44 straight games, breaking or tying every record previous to DiMaggio’s. It is very clear from the narrative that Kennedy is a fan of Rose, and I have to confess it convinced me to change my opinion on Rose’s banning from baseball. I now think it should be lifted. A topic for another time…perhaps after reading Kennedy’s biography of Rose :)
Kennedy also does a nice job of placing “the streak” in the context of the buildup for war that was taking place. It was only two months after the end of the 1941 season that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Players were being drafted and several, including the great Hank Greenberg had already started their tours of duty. For those two months, DiMaggio’s streak and Hitler’s march through Europe competed for the headlines. Implied in this narrative is that “the streak” helped keep the country sane by sometimes diverting its attention from the ominous developments overseas to an event everyone could participate in.
He also does an effective job looking at how ”the streak” is viewed in modern culture. It has become a commonly used analogy whenever some impressive record is about to be broken. He also talks a lot about how modern baseball players view “the streak”, and how it helps connect them to baseball’s history. And, Kennedy is right in that the DiMaggio’s streak is really the last pure record to be broken in baseball. Ruth and Aaron’s home run records were revered, as was Roger Maris’ single season home run record. All of those are now tainted because they were broken by players pumped up on steroids and human growth hormone. Gehrig’s consecutive game streak was at that level as well until it was broken by Cal Ripken. Ripken’s streak may eventually be viewed in that light as well given the type of man he was. But none of these approaches the reverence that DiMaggio’s streak is accorded. Most think it will never be broken. I agree.
Kennedy sometimes went overboard with his narrative. Often, his descriptions of events ventured into the maudlin, particularly those related to a “gang” of boys – the Hornets and the Dukes – in Jackson Heights New York, who played street ball and whose obsession was baseball. While I understand including them in the narrative, the prose surrounding them often became too maudlin even for a book about baseball. It read like a Frank Capra script…only more sentimental if that is possible. With this and some other vignettes he really distracted from the overall flow of the book.
Other times he would spend a lot of ink on seemingly trivial events like the songs sung before a game early in the season which included two pages of the songs lyrics. Sometimes the analogies he used made it appear he had just done a Google search and found something he had to include in the book. The one that made my eyes roll the most was in a section where he was describing how “the streak” is now viewed with reverence in modern day locker rooms, and that “it was a bit like saying ‘Harding’s ascent’ to a group of rock climbers at Yosemite, or ‘Escoffier’s soufflé’ among young chefs at a culinary institute.”
Now, I suppose it is conceivable as a sportswriter that Kennedy may know who first climbed El Capitan at Yosemite park (I had to Google it), but it is simply not believable to think he had any idea who Escoffier was or what role he played in the history of the soufflé. Even if he did, it sounds pretentious…and ridiculous.
Anyway, as an ardent baseball fan I really enjoyed this book. It succeeded in making me want more information about the people and events he describes…the hallmark of a good work of non-fiction. Non-baseball fans may enjoy it too as it touches on events outside the confines of baseball as they related to or were affected by, “the streak.”
Highly Recommended!!!
February 17, 2020
This book gives some insight into baseball in the 1940's and the year that Joe DiMaggio got a hit in 56 consecutive games. It is the longest hit streak in the history of major league baseball. DiMaggio actually started the year in a slump. His wife Dorothy actually gave him some advice that helped him to break out of his slump. The book also relates how the two met and discusses information regarding Dorothy's acting career.
The book addresses the background of the games involved in the hitting streak. The author mentions the weather and the attendance for some of the games. He also discusses some of the statistics for the game.
Kennedy also writes about the cultural and historical background of this particular season. Since the season occurred during the second world war, the patriotism of various citizens and the way that the war effected people is also discussed.
The book also features information about DiMaggio's Yankee teammates. For instance, the reader learns of he origin of Phil Rizzuto's nickname of "Scooter." Rizzuto's admiration for DiMaggio is also mentioned.
The author points out the strengths and personal pitching styles of some of the pitchers who gave up hits to DiMaggio during the historic streak. Additionally, the author addresses the managers who managed the opposing teams.
DiMaggio's family background and his Italian American heritage is also mentioned. DiMaggio was raised with 8 siblings by his parents in San Francisco, California. His father was a fisherman, and his brother Dominic became a player for the Boston Red Sox. His brother, Dominic, was a good player in his own right. The book also mentions the difficult life of a fisherman that his father lived. His ability to provide for his family as a fisherman is remarkable and noteworthy.
In the 1940's contract negotiations between players and owners was much different that it is today. Players today have more rights and leverage in negotiations. However, major league ball players were still paid well compared to other workers in the 1940's. Contract negotiations between DiMaggio and the Yankees is discussed. How DiMaggio's contract compared to other players is also addressed.
DiMaggio played through injury during the steak. Some of those injuries are addressed by the author.
I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in major league baseball during the 1940's. It is also a good book for Yankee fans who want to learn more about DiMaggio, the Yankees or the cultural and historical background of DiMaggio's hit streak.
The book addresses the background of the games involved in the hitting streak. The author mentions the weather and the attendance for some of the games. He also discusses some of the statistics for the game.
Kennedy also writes about the cultural and historical background of this particular season. Since the season occurred during the second world war, the patriotism of various citizens and the way that the war effected people is also discussed.
The book also features information about DiMaggio's Yankee teammates. For instance, the reader learns of he origin of Phil Rizzuto's nickname of "Scooter." Rizzuto's admiration for DiMaggio is also mentioned.
The author points out the strengths and personal pitching styles of some of the pitchers who gave up hits to DiMaggio during the historic streak. Additionally, the author addresses the managers who managed the opposing teams.
DiMaggio's family background and his Italian American heritage is also mentioned. DiMaggio was raised with 8 siblings by his parents in San Francisco, California. His father was a fisherman, and his brother Dominic became a player for the Boston Red Sox. His brother, Dominic, was a good player in his own right. The book also mentions the difficult life of a fisherman that his father lived. His ability to provide for his family as a fisherman is remarkable and noteworthy.
In the 1940's contract negotiations between players and owners was much different that it is today. Players today have more rights and leverage in negotiations. However, major league ball players were still paid well compared to other workers in the 1940's. Contract negotiations between DiMaggio and the Yankees is discussed. How DiMaggio's contract compared to other players is also addressed.
DiMaggio played through injury during the steak. Some of those injuries are addressed by the author.
I would recommend this book for anyone who is interested in major league baseball during the 1940's. It is also a good book for Yankee fans who want to learn more about DiMaggio, the Yankees or the cultural and historical background of DiMaggio's hit streak.
March 23, 2023
History has demonstrated that no record in sports is ever truly safe. When I was young I read an article that stated that no one would ever beat Jim Brown’s career record of rushing yards in the NFL. Now, he is ninth on the all-time list. Lou Gehrig’s record of 2,130 consecutive games played was considered unbreakable for decades, yet Cal Ripken Jr. broke it by playing in 2,6320 straight games. Yet, Joe DiMaggio’s record of hitting safely in 56 straight games seems as safe as any other record.
Each trip to the plate has a significantly different context. Among other things, there may or may not be men on the bases, the wind can be blowing either in or out, it can be hot and sunny or cool and damp, the pitcher could be tired or fresh and the pitches that the pitcher specializes in could be the type that the batter either hits or struggles with.
Given all these variables, the trips to the plate by any individual batter cannot be modeled using the statistical technique of Bernoulli trials. This technique presupposes that all at-bats are essentially equivalent. That is the topic of a supplement in the book.
The rest is a combination of a biography of Joe DiMaggio from birth to roughly the end of the streak. Points well made are that he was a very graceful player, covering ground in centerfield with a deceptively fast movement to the ball. He also hustled out every play, a tactic which kept his edge and gave him hits that others would not have obtained. DiMaggio was also emotionally consistent, sometimes to the point of being withdrawn. This helped keep him steady under the great pressure of achieving an incredible record.
This is an excellent story about DiMaggio the ballplayer and the man. The context of captivating a nation that needed a diversion while a war was raging in Europe and Asia is also well covered. While 56 is a record that will likely fall at some point, it is indeed a magic number.
Each trip to the plate has a significantly different context. Among other things, there may or may not be men on the bases, the wind can be blowing either in or out, it can be hot and sunny or cool and damp, the pitcher could be tired or fresh and the pitches that the pitcher specializes in could be the type that the batter either hits or struggles with.
Given all these variables, the trips to the plate by any individual batter cannot be modeled using the statistical technique of Bernoulli trials. This technique presupposes that all at-bats are essentially equivalent. That is the topic of a supplement in the book.
The rest is a combination of a biography of Joe DiMaggio from birth to roughly the end of the streak. Points well made are that he was a very graceful player, covering ground in centerfield with a deceptively fast movement to the ball. He also hustled out every play, a tactic which kept his edge and gave him hits that others would not have obtained. DiMaggio was also emotionally consistent, sometimes to the point of being withdrawn. This helped keep him steady under the great pressure of achieving an incredible record.
This is an excellent story about DiMaggio the ballplayer and the man. The context of captivating a nation that needed a diversion while a war was raging in Europe and Asia is also well covered. While 56 is a record that will likely fall at some point, it is indeed a magic number.
May 11, 2020
I was very disappointed in this book. I thought it would be about the actual 56 game hitting streak. Instead, it was part fiction, part WW II mobilization history, and part statistical analysis. There was a LOT of what appeared to be filler in this book. I mean, an entire 22 page chapter about Pete Rose? Come on. And there was page after page about the Jackson Heights Hornets and what I assume are fiction characters with names like "Gimpy, Squeaky, Commie and Harry the Hawk." I'm assuming they are fictional, because they author doesn't make it clear and the book has no endnotes or footnotes. I am not a fan of inserting fiction into non fiction accounts of historical happenings (see Dutch by Edmund Morris.) The author also tells us DiMaggio's inner thoughts as he's on the field. Obviously, he's inferring those thoughts at best, completely fabricating them at worst.
The parts of the book detailing the actual game situations that kept the streak alive and the final game where the streak ended were good. The problem was, the author didn't even cover all of the games in the streak. He just skipped over a big chunk of them. I guess he needed to make sure he was able to fit the account of his watching Pete Rose at a memorabilia signing into the book.
Anyway, that's my take. This book is just not what I was expecting. Maybe that's my fault. Your mileage may differ.
The parts of the book detailing the actual game situations that kept the streak alive and the final game where the streak ended were good. The problem was, the author didn't even cover all of the games in the streak. He just skipped over a big chunk of them. I guess he needed to make sure he was able to fit the account of his watching Pete Rose at a memorabilia signing into the book.
Anyway, that's my take. This book is just not what I was expecting. Maybe that's my fault. Your mileage may differ.
August 17, 2021
2nd favorite baseball book thus far (after Moneyball) out of the half dozen or so I've read. Most baseball books are weaving a focus on some aspect of the game with a cultural backdrop or wider narrative. The day-to-day focus on DiMaggio's 56 game hit streak was excellent--even knowing exactly when the streak would end, I was still on the edge of my seat when Joe would be hitless through 3 at-bats during game 31 or whatever. Set against the backdrop of the early rumblings of World War II, it was neat to be reminded of the extent to which baseball and current events used to be intertwined.
Finally, the ongoing narrative of DiMaggio's personal life was a bit weaker--perhaps because it was simply more sparse--but I especially liked the material on his Italian-American identity and how that became a complicating factor in him being the most popular ball player at a time when America and Italy were about to go to war. The book does not dwell on his romantic life, with the streak coming pre-Marilyn Monroe, but one is already left with some distaste toward DiMaggio as a man due to his relative neglect of his wife and child. Great guy personally? Probably not. Greatest living baseball player at the time? Not quite, though the streak brought on that perception. Cultural icon, baseball or otherwise? Absolutely yes, and as "56" will very likely never be broken by another ball player, Joe DiMaggio's fame will endure for generations to come.
Finally, the ongoing narrative of DiMaggio's personal life was a bit weaker--perhaps because it was simply more sparse--but I especially liked the material on his Italian-American identity and how that became a complicating factor in him being the most popular ball player at a time when America and Italy were about to go to war. The book does not dwell on his romantic life, with the streak coming pre-Marilyn Monroe, but one is already left with some distaste toward DiMaggio as a man due to his relative neglect of his wife and child. Great guy personally? Probably not. Greatest living baseball player at the time? Not quite, though the streak brought on that perception. Cultural icon, baseball or otherwise? Absolutely yes, and as "56" will very likely never be broken by another ball player, Joe DiMaggio's fame will endure for generations to come.
May 17, 2021
Can't remember exactly when I read this, but I really enjoyed reading this book about the remarkable feat of hitting consecutively in 56 game. Much of his personal and family life was new to me, because I really didn't know much about him. I didn't know he grew up and played ball in San Francisco. He was a remarkable center fielder as well as one of the best hitters in baseball of all time. Discussions about how the game have changed since he played and the improbability of anyone beating his record were also really interesting. It seems like this book also talked about his aversion to talking with reporters and others. He was a private person and was happy to let others speak with the media. He liked his habits and loved eating Italian food and eating frequently at his favorite restaurants.
This book talked a little about what professional baseball players did during WWII, so this was nice to learn about as well.
I guess I really enjoy reading about sports, so perhaps I should read more books like this. I'm grateful for Kostya Kennedy for his research and writing skills in producing such a fascinating book.
This book talked a little about what professional baseball players did during WWII, so this was nice to learn about as well.
I guess I really enjoy reading about sports, so perhaps I should read more books like this. I'm grateful for Kostya Kennedy for his research and writing skills in producing such a fascinating book.
November 3, 2017
A marvelous read. Kennedy knows his material well, partly due to his clear interest in it and partly from the exhaustive research he conducted. His writing is equally impressive. Details abound; he makes you feel the streets and fields of 1941. Joe DiMaggio becomes a fully-formed character, a real human. In some ways--despite principally covering only one summer of Joltin' Joe's life--this is a biography of DiMaggio. That's how closely his identity is tied to the titular, extraordinary achievement. Kennedy, an editor for Sports Illustrated, breaks down the statistics of the streak with a dedication that some non-sports readers may find tedious. But, overall, there is enough description of World War II, DiMaggio's first marriage and daily life in New York and San Francisco to keep most anyone engaged.
May 30, 2018
I don't know why I gave this four stars instead of five as I enjoyed it a great deal. Maybe because it's about the Yankees? Whatever, this was a thoroughly enjoyable book that not only told the story of Joe's 56 game streak but also quite a bit about society at the time and personal information about DiMaggio himself. The last chapter quotes many mathematicians and statisticians about the chances of this streak happening and will someone do it again. My rational mind says it will not and can you imagine the coverage and social media obsession that would occur today? To me there are two sports records that are unmatchable. DiMaggio's streak and Wilt Chamberlain's scoring average of 50.4 ppg in his 1961-1962 season. Just ain't gonna happen. That aside this was a fun read and I highly recommend it to baseball fans and those curious about pre-WWII society in America.
September 15, 2019
Ultimately I was disappointed by this book, mostly because it is supposed to be non-fiction; however, all of the "made up" conversations and the mind reading of DiMaggio performed by Kennedy in the pages of the book really detracted from my enjoyment of the book. I did like the descriptions of what was happening in American in the summer of 1941 and I also liked the game by game accounts of DiMaggio's at bats and what he did on the field during his streak. But I didn't care for DiMaggio himself and how he treated other people. I might have been able to overlook that if I were a Yankees fan, but I am not.
December 1, 2025
This work from 2011 was an exciting page turner filled with additional information about baseball and the times of the early 1940s. Kostya includes a generous amount of detail on the science and math of streaks like Joe DiMaggio’s unmatched hitting streak. This was my Thanksgiving airplane read for the long flights between DFW and SEA. What a great book. Surely, Joe DiMaggio’s record is safe for quite some time, maybe 746 years according to the book. This is a terrific book. Read it and enjoy. JIM
October 11, 2017
A very interesting read on Dimaggio's hitting streak and the times as the streak unfolded against the backdrop of World War II.
The history and nature of hitting streaks was discussed and made one aware of how truly difficult they are.
As one would expect, there was much additional 'color' on the other famous and obscure players of the time. Also a reminder of the huge social impact of the game of baseball and its centrality in American life.
The history and nature of hitting streaks was discussed and made one aware of how truly difficult they are.
As one would expect, there was much additional 'color' on the other famous and obscure players of the time. Also a reminder of the huge social impact of the game of baseball and its centrality in American life.
August 2, 2018
Joe goes 56
Baseball books are hard reads: the details and analysis can on be 'good' at best. (At games there is the totality of the game, and side issues, that supplies back end excitement) As interesting as this book is, I felt the chapters on other streaks and the analysis of the odds of another such streak to occur we're the best parts. Also, if not for the streak, who Joe be famous?
Baseball books are hard reads: the details and analysis can on be 'good' at best. (At games there is the totality of the game, and side issues, that supplies back end excitement) As interesting as this book is, I felt the chapters on other streaks and the analysis of the odds of another such streak to occur we're the best parts. Also, if not for the streak, who Joe be famous?
July 1, 2021
A unique combination of biography, history, and commentary. I wanted a Joe DiMaggio biography and was initially dissatisfied with the author’s decision to intersperse biographical “flashbacks” between the milestones of DiMaggio’s now seemingly insurmountable 56 game “safe” hitting streak. But the approach grew on me and in the end I was completely satisfied. A great book for baseball fans and a taste of 1940s America.
June 13, 2022
Very well written book about the great Joe Dimaggio’s 56 game hitting streak! The writing makes you feel like you are there and you can feel the excitement and buzz that the country felt every day. This book makes you feel the enormity of the streak and it’s great to read about people all over the country following Joe’s progress every day!!!! Also, a great chapter on Pete Rose’s 44 game hitting streak!! Great book!
March 16, 2025
The book's narrative alternates between DiMaggio's experience during the streak, some inside baseball, national & world events, and how a broad group of observers during 1941 lived vicariously through DiMaggio's accomplishment.
Kennedy's baseball writing is solid--I particularly enjoyed his breakdown of why the call in Game 30 of the streak was correctly called. The rest of Kennedy's writing is not compelling. I wouldn't call this essential.
Kennedy's baseball writing is solid--I particularly enjoyed his breakdown of why the call in Game 30 of the streak was correctly called. The rest of Kennedy's writing is not compelling. I wouldn't call this essential.
August 8, 2017
I'm even more convinced that this record will never be broken. The circumstances surrounding every hit of every game on the way to this achievement are impossible to imagine ever happening again. As such a lifelong fan of the game I don't know if this is comforting to know the record is safe with such a great man, or discouraging that I will likely never see anything close in my lifetime.
January 5, 2019
I wish I could rate this book three and a half stars. This book gave me a new appreciation for DiMaggio as a player and for his timeless hitting streak achievement. Baseball fans will like this book.
August 17, 2019
An exciting read, even though we know how it ends. It's remarkable that the feat was accomplished in such a short period of time. They also pointed out his many flaws; a sports record does not make a great human being.
November 18, 2017
Well written. Took me back in time. Interesting back stories.
May 9, 2018
Wonderful history of DiMaggio’s streak back when baseball was king.
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