This day in history - July 16, 1941: Joe DiMaggio hits safely for the 56th consecutive game

By Richard K. Barry

Joe DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak still stands and it's hard to imagine that it will ever be broken, though I guess one should never say anything like that.

The streak began on May 15th and ended on July 17th, but on July 16th he got that 56th hit. He had a .408 batting average during the streak, going 91 for 223, with 15 home runs and 55 RBIs.

Here we are just after the All-Star break, moving into the middle of July, the dog days of summer. It's a perfect time to remember the Yankee Clipper's phenomenal feat and how truly incredible it was.

(Yes, yes, let's do that, it was truly, utterly amazing what he did, even if he had a bit of help along the way, but that shouldn't detract from our loathing of the damn Yankees generally. I was at the game last night, a 7-1 drubbing at the hands of the Blue Jays, and it was, as always, a genuine pleasure to see them go down. -- MJWS)

(Cross-posted to Lippmann's Ghost.)