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“Half the lies they tell about me aren’t true.” – Yogi Berra “It’s not about the shoes. It’s about what you do in them.” – Michael Jordan Joe DiMaggio was playing semi-pro ball when older brother Vince DiMaggio, playing for the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League (PCL), talked his manager into letting DiMaggio fill in at shortstop. Joe DiMaggio made his professional debut on October 1, 1932.

From May 27 to July 25, 1933, he got at least one hit in a PCL-record 61 consecutive games: “Baseball didn’t really get into my blood until I knocked off that hitting streak. Getting a daily hit became more important to me than eating, drinking or sleeping.”

In 1934, his career almost ended. Going to his sister’s house for dinner, he tore ligaments in his left knee while stepping out of a jitney (shared taxi).

The Seals had hoped to sell DiMaggio’s contract for $100,000. Scout Bill Essick of the New York Yankees was convinced that DiMaggio could overcome his knee injury and pestered the club to give DiMaggio another look. After DiMaggio passed a test on his knee, he was bought on November 21 in exchange for $50,000 and five players, with the Seals keeping him for the 1935 season. He batted .398 with 154 runs batted in (RBIs) and 34 home runs, led the Seals to the 1935 PCL title, and was named the League’s Most Valuable Player. In the first half alone, Walter Payton carried the ball 26 times for 144 yards and scored one touchdown. The Chicago Bears built a 10-0 halftime lead and hung on for a 10-7 victory over their NFC Central Division rivals. But, that wasn’t the story on this day. A Soldier Field crowd of 57,359 could feel that history was being made. With just a bit more than three minutes to play in the game, Payton broke loose for a 58-yard run to the Minnesota Vikings‘ 9-yard line. Not only did he put the Bears in scoring position but also put him within five yards of O. J. Simpson‘s single-game rushing record of 273 yards. Payton carried the ball two more times and gained seven yards to claim the record.

In that record-setting game, Payton was suffering with a 101-degree fever and intense flu. His longest run was for 58 yards, and he caught one pass for 6 yards. His record stood for 23 years until Corey Dillon of the Cincinnati Bengals ran for 278 yards in 2000.

Payton was once asked what defenses could do to stop him. His response: “The night before the game, I guess they’d have to kidnap me.”


via profootballhof.com





