Z5004

Major League Baseball All-Stars

Joe DiMaggio

Collins Cover Announcement 

Baseball All-Stars

Joe DiMaggio

This cover is the first of my four-cachet series honoring four baseball All-Stars. Joe DiMaggio played his entire 13-year career as the center fielder of the New York Yankeds. "Joltin' Joe" was an outstanding batter, and his amazing 56 consecutive game hitting streak (May 15, 1941 to July 16, 1941) is a record that still stands today. On February 17, 1943 he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and served until September 1945 after the war. Because of World War II, Joe missed the 1943, 1944, and 1945 baseball seasons during his prime years, so one can only wonder what his -final statistics would have been if this was not so.

DiMaggio made the All-Star team in each of his thirteen seasons. Three times he was chosen as the year's most valuable player. During his career in New York, the team won ten pennants and nine World Series championships. Joe was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1955 and in Baseball's centennial year of 1969 was voted the sport's greatest living player. My individually hand painted cachet for the "Yankee Clipper" is now ready. Joe DiMaggio — Collins #Z5004 —$14.00

Summer 2026 Mail Sale Commentary 

Lot 36 Z5001 (Ted Williams) and Z5004 (Joe DiMaggio) — Baseball All-Stars — 7/20/12

These two covers are from my mini-series honoring four baseball All-Stars. The lot is for the two sold-out covers but also includes two FREE covers — (Z5002) Larry Doby and (Z5003) Willie Stargell (both still available). 

Joe DiMaggio played his entire 13-year career as the center fielder of the New York Yankees. He was an outstanding batter, and his amazing 56 consecutive game hitting streak is a record that still stands today. Joe missed several baseball seasons due to enlisting in the Army Air Corps during World War II but made the All-Star team in each of his thirteen seasons. Joe was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955 and in Baseball's centennial year of 1969 was voted the sport's greatest living player.

Ted Williams had a career batting average of .344; had 521 home runs; and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1966. This astounding athlete was the last player to hit over .400 for an entire season (.406 in 1941). And counting walks, he reached base an amazing forty-eight Percent of the time during his entire career. Perhaps the most profound fact about Ted is that he compiled all of the incredible statistics during the years 1939 to 1942 and from 1946 to 1960. This American hero was exactly that because during his prime years, he left baseball during World War II and became a Marine Corps fighter-bomber pilot.

Larry Doby was a centerfielder for the American League in seven consecutive All-Star games. During his career he had almost a thousand runs batted in. He joined the military during World War II and served in the Navy until 1946. Doby was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier. He was the very first player to go directly to the Majors from the Negro Leagues, and at age 23 he became the first black player to integrate the American League in 1947.Willie Stargell was one of the most powerful hitters to ever play the game. To intimidate opposing players, he would warm up in the on-deck circle by swinging a sledgehammer. He spent his entire twenty-one years with the Pittsburgh Pirates, and during his career he had 2,232 hits including 475 home runs and 423 doubles. He hit more homers out of ballparks than any other player which demonstrated his awesome strength, and his RBI total was 1,540 when he retired.