This Day in Yankees History: Joe DiMaggio's 56-Game Hitting Streak Began

A first-inning single, on this day in 1941, turned out to be the beginning of one of the most iconic streaks in professional sports history.

After two hitless games, Joe DiMaggio stroked a base hit in the bottom of the first inning off Chicago White Sox' southpaw Eddie Smith on May 15. The RBI single, bringing home Phil Rizzuto, proved to be the Yankees only run in a 13-1 loss.

Little did anyone know at the time, DiMaggio would go on to hit safely in 56 consecutive games, a record-long streak that still stands today.

In that game at Yankee Stadium, 79 years ago on Friday, DiMaggio went 1-for-4. Across the next two-plus months, however, the future Hall of Famer hit .408 with 91 hits, 15 home runs and 55 RBI.

New York went 41-13-2 in that span, en route to a World Series title later that year. DiMaggio won the American League Most Valuable Player Award for the second time in his illustrious career.

Here's an excerpt from Sports Illustrated's coverage of this day in history.

Though DiMaggio's 56-game streak ended on July 17, he started another one in the following game. He went on to record an additional 16-game hitting streak, marking a total of 72 out of 73 games during which he recorded a hit. In the extended stretch, DiMaggio recorded 120 hits, 20 home runs and six strikeouts. Following that season, he never recorded 20-game hit streak again, reaching 19 games as his second-highest in the 1950 season.

During his run, DiMaggio recorded hits off four future Hall of Fame pitchers: Lefty Grove, Hal Newhouser, Bob Feller and Ted Lyons. He held the highest batting average in the league twice in his career in the 1939 and 1940 seasons.

Prior to reaching the major leagues, DiMaggio recorded a 61-game hitting streak as a member of the Pacific Coast League's San Francisco Seals in 1933. That streak stands as the second-longest in minor league history.

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When DiMaggio retired in 1951, he walked away from the game with nine World Series titles, three MVP Awards, two batting titles, and 13 All-Star Game appearances across as many years in the Major Leagues.

That's right, he never missed an All-Star Game – save for the three seasons right in the middle of his career when he didn't play in the big leagues because of military service.

Joltin' Joe was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955.

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