HERO'S LIFE: Collectors saw a different hero

Joe DiMaggio, in life, was painted as heroic, dignified, elegant, graceful, gentlemanly and classy. An American icon. Anything to the contrary would be pure, unadulterated heresy. Sports collectors saw glimpses of the deified side of DiMaggio. They saw more. What they saw, though, wasn't a pretty picture. It wasn't realism, perfection, like his swing and the torque of his body. It wasn't impressionistic like The Streak. Collectors knew a curmudgeonly, greedy, megalomaniacal man whose rudeness was naturally remembered more than the good things he did. DiMaggio was mysterious, hard to understand, abstract expressionism. The job of national hero is reserved for very few people. DiMaggio exceeded national hero status, if that's possible. He had 10 World Series rings . . . He was heir to the Ruth-Gehrig mantle of the Yankees before there was a Mantle. He had Marilyn. And he had the heroic Paul Simon lyric.

During an autograph show appearance some years back, Joltin' Joe asked for and received an autograph ball from Reggie Jackson. It was a nice gesture between legends from different generations. When Reggie asked the same of the fellow Yankee idol, DiMaggio failed to reciprocate. He told him, instead, how much the signed ball would cost. Mr. October got dumped on by Mr. Coffee. Mickey Mantle once called DiMaggio something that rhymes with brick. In fact, Mick had a little fun with DiMaggio memorabilia during an appearance on the Home Shopping Network. HSN was selling single-signed DiMaggio baseballs for a whopping $400, well above market price at the time.

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