Lucky to Be a Yankee

New York: Rudolph Field, 1946 Introduction by James A. Farley. Foreword by Grantland Rice. First edition, first printing. Signed by DiMaggio in blue ink on the front free endpaper. Publisher's tan-orange cloth, with spine lettered in black; in its original green dust jacket, with black and white photographs of DiMaggio to the front and rear panel, lettered in red and white. Very good book, with some fading to lower edges of boards and spine, and offsetting to endpapers; very good or better unclipped dust jacket, with light toning to spine, some wear and chipping to spine ends and edges of panels, and some light marks to front panel. Overall, a bright copy of this scarce DiMaggio title, especially scarce signed. Lucky to Be a Yankee is a "human, dramatic account of the boy who wanted to sell newspapers, but wound up instead one of the greatest baseball outfielders and hitters the game has ever known" (rear flap). DiMaggio played all thirteen seasons of his career with the New York Yankees and was selected as an All-Star thirteen times. With his exemplary hitting and fielding (he was nicknamed "The Yankee Clipper" because of how he sailed around the outfield) he helped power the Yankees to nine World Series titles. He holds the record for the longest hitting streak, at 56 games, which is considered one of the most statistically remarkable records in all of sports. Outside of baseball, he was known for his high-profile marriage with Marilyn Monroe. DiMaggio was one of the rare athletes that transcended his sport: his association with a bygone era of America was noted in Simon and Garfunkel's Grammy Award-winning song, "Mrs. Robinson." Baseball Hall of Famer Ted Williams said, "His career cannot be summed up in numbers and awards. It might sound corny, but he had a profound impact on the country.". Signed. First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Dust Jacket Included.