DiMaggio came up for the final time in the eighth, after the Yankees had rallied to score twice and take the lead 4-1. With one out, the bases were loaded.

Cleveland manager Roger Peckinpaugh, whose Yankee record DiMaggio had broken, came out to the mound. Taking note of Joe's previous at bats against Smith, he waved right-handed pitcher Jim Bagby Jr. in from the bullpen. Bagby's father had starred for the Indians years before.

Eight years before, DiMaggio's 61-game streak had been stopped by the son of a former major league pitcher, Ed Walsh Jr., and now another pitcher's son had the task of trying to stop him.

DiMaggio took Bagby's first pitch for a ball, then swung viciously and missed, to even the count. The Cleveland crowd cheered madly, some in anticipation of seeing the streak stopped, some in the hope that the Indians could halt the Yankee rally, and some hoping to see DiMaggio's streak continue. No one in the crowd of more than 67,000 was indifferent. DiMaggio swung at the next pitch.

The ball bounded straight to Cleveland shortstop Lou Boudreau, who, incidentally, was celebrating his twenty-fourth birthday. At the last instant, the ball took a bad hop, but Boudreau snagged it at his chest, flipped to second baseman Ray Mack, and Mack gunned the ball to first baseman Oscar Grimes. DiMaggio was out, and the Yankee rally was over. New York still led, 4-1.

Joe's only chance to continue the streak rested in the hands of Yankee hitters in the ninth inning, or in Cleveland's powerful lineup in their last chance. Bagby, however, was equal to the task in the ninth and the Yankees failed to score.

In the bottom of the ninth inning, Lefty Gomez faltered. After giving up two singles, McCarthy replaced him with relief ace Johnny Murphy. Murphy gave up a triple to pinch hitter Larry Rosenthal that scored two and made the score 4-3.

If Rosenthal scored, the game would go to extra innings, potentially giving DiMaggio another at bat. The crowd was going crazy.

Pinch hitter Hal Trosky failed to plate Rosenthal as he grounded to Sturm at first. Then Soup Campbell bounced a shot to Murphy. Rosenthal inexplicably broke for home, and Murphy trapped him off base. Rosenthal was out, and Campbell made first.

DiMaggio's streak officially ended, not with a ground ball to Ken Keltner or a pitch from Jim Bagby, but on a weak ground ball from Roy Weatherly to Johnny Sturm, who stepped on first to end the game. New York won, 4-3, increasing the lead over Cleveland to seven games, but Joe DiMaggio's streak had ended at 56 games.

The Yankees entered the clubhouse after the game, happy with the win, but silent, waiting for DiMaggio's reaction. He finally cut the tension by commenting "I'm glad it's over. Keltner was a little tough on me tonight." In Cleveland's clubhouse, Keltner was understandably disappointed in the loss, and snapped, "I hate to lose," but later took pride in his role in ending the streak. Immediately following the game, it was not Keltner who received attention from the press, anyway, but pitchers Smith and Bagby.

While DiMaggio was relieved, he wasn't particularly happy. He didn't want to leave the park by himself, and asked Phil Rizzuto to wait for him. After the two men walked in silence for several blocks, DiMaggio reached into his pocket. "Son of a bitch," he said, "I forgot my wallet. Phil, how much money have you got?" Rizzuto dug into his wallet and gave DiMaggio all his cash, eighteen dollars. DiMaggio turned to walk into a bar and Rizzuto started to follow, but DiMaggio put out his hand and told Rizzuto to go back to the hotel, saying, "I want to relax a bit." DiMaggio spent the evening drinking in a Cleveland tavern while word of the game spread across the country.

» NEXT