Book Review: Hero's Life a 'Masterpiece'

By Chuck Kaufman, Editor, Sweet Spot

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. Well, so be it. Many collectors knew a curmudgeonly, greedy, megalomaniacal man whose rudeness was naturally remembered more than the good things he did. 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. He also had celebrity quirks. Perhaps Mantle was referring to them when he called him a name that rhymes with brick. 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 refused. He told him, instead, how much the signed ball would cost. Mr. October got dumped on by Mr. Coffee.

The story many collectors know is reported in the final 70 pages of Richard Ben Cramer's book, "Joe DiMaggio, The Hero's Life." Cramer's brutally honest account of DiMaggio's greed, ego, silence, persona, and those of Morris Engelberg, his representative in memorabilia and other matters, are supported by sworn affidavits. Sadly, the accounts are true. Tales about solid friendships cracking over the stress of memorabilia business dealings . . . sadly true. Oh, Cramer could have left out some of the snide anecdotes people shared about Norma Jean Baker. Critics have assailed Cramer for revealing stories about the great DiMaggio now after the man is gone. Blasphemy! Fact is these stories have been around for many years, long after critics had written off DiMaggio as a mysterious man whose heart had been broken by Marilyn Monroe.

When it came to signing fees, no one would top DiMaggio. Whatever Mantle got, DiMaggio would have to have more. Whatever Ted Williams got, DiMaggio had to have more. Imagine DiMaggio in today's free agency atmosphere. "For example, in the mid 1990s," Cramer wrote, "Ted Williams decided to price himself out of autograph shows. For one thing, Ted had suffered a stroke, and signing was difficult. For another, he hated the shows - always had - like a damn meat market, and he was stuffing sausage. to sell before it stank. So Ted opted out, with one simple rule - he set his price at $350 per signature . . . and no one called him for shows."

DiMaggio was selling his signature at the time for $125 apiece. Collectors who bit the bullet and wrote the checks joked that his nickname had nothing to do with a majestic schooner. "Hey, they don't call him the Yankee Clipper for nothin'," they'd say. Following Ted's announcement, the price for a DiMaggio-signed ball went up to $150. But if you had a picture of him with Ted Williams, Joe's signature would cost $375. No way Ted Williams was going to top him..

Cramer spent five years and a reported $1 million advance from publisher Simon & Schuster to research this great book. The truth about DiMaggio does not lessen his place in history, so readers should not be distracted by the guff that Cramer has taken. DiMaggio and Engelberg, the loyal servant, wanted nothing to do with the book. A letter from Engelberg's law partner, Jerald Cantor, is reprinted in the back of the book. It states that Engelberg's conduct in the business affairs of Mr. DiMaggio, Yankee Clipper Enterprises and its memorabilia business was "beyond reproach. . . . Your reference to serious allegations is a vengeful and self-serving attempt to discredit Mr. Engelberg driven by your having been rebuked by both Mr. DiMaggio and him . . . " Well, fair enough.

The truth is that there is a personality behind every person. With regard sports memorabilia dealings, Cramer captured DiMaggio's in a masterpiece.