This day in NY sports history

THIS DAY IN NY SPORTS HISTORY

Thursday, May 15, 1941

DiMaggio begins record hit streak

Many of the 9,040 fans at Yankee Stadium booed as the Yankees suffered a 13-1 loss to the White Sox in which the only run came on a first-inning single by Joe DiMaggio (1-for-4). That single off Edgar Smith would begin DiMaggio's unrivaled streak of 56 consecutive games that lasted until July 17. During the streak, DiMaggio went 91-for-223 (.408) with 15 homers and 55 RBIs. The Yankees were 14-15 after that loss to Chicago, but improved to 56-27 when the hit streak was snapped against the Cleveland Indians. DiMaggio, then 26, won his second MVP award that season, hitting .357 with 30 homers, 125 RBIs and 193 hits as the Yankees won the AL pennant by 17 games over Boston. The Yanks topped Brooklyn in five games to win the World Series. Pete Rose challenged the streak in 1978, but "only" managed to reach the 44-game mark. William "Wee Willie" Keeler set the NL record of 45 games with Baltimore during the 1896-97 seasons.