56 Game Hitting Steak by Joe DiMaggio

On May 15, 1941, it began. On that day, Joltin' Joe DiMaggio went one-for-four with a run batted in against Eddie Smith and the Chicago White Sox. From that fateful day until July 16, fifty-six games later, DiMaggio hit safely in every game, setting a brand new record that still stands as one of the greatest achievements in baseball history.

While DiMaggio was no stranger to being the star of an always impressive Yankee team, 1941 was even more special than usual. While the rival Red Sox were being led by Ted Williams and his unbelievable batting average, he ended the season at .406, DiMaggio pulled his team out of an early slump, and led them to the World Series, and himself to an Most Valuable Player Award. The run to the championship was jump started by DiMaggio's streak. It is ironic that the streak began against the White Sox, who on at least four occasions nearly ended DiMaggio's streak themselves. However, it was the Indians, not the White Sox who finally held the Yankee Clipper hitless. On July 17, third baseman Ken Keltner made two terrific back handed stops to rob DiMaggio of two hits, ending the streak. DiMaggio had ninety-one hits in two-hundred twenty-three at bats during the stretch, hitting .409. The Yankees had the last laugh, as they won the game, and later the World Series. DiMaggio kept his streak alive through the All-Star break (and in fact the game itself as he went one-for-four) and the death of Yankee great Lou Gehrig on June 2.

"The Streak", as it has come to be known added to the legend of the great DiMaggio. The eleven-time All-Star was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1955. In fact, the first line of his Cooperstown plaque pays homage to his 1941 streak. DiMaggio is one of only a few players whose famous record still stands, as even Hall of Fame worthy Pete Rose (hit in forty-four consecutive games in 1978) and Hall of Famer Paul Molitor (thirty-nine games in 1987) have fallen far short of his record. Baseball Almanac proudly presents a game-by-game record of the unbreakable, the amazing, the record setting, The Streak.