Joe DiMaggio hit safely in 56 straight games
In the summer of 1941 a Yankee got a hit in 56 consecutive games - a baseball record that has stood untouched for over 80 years.
Starting on 15 May 1941, New York Yankees outfielder Joe DiMaggio got at least one hit in every game he played. The streak ran for 56 consecutive games, ending only on 17 July 1941 in Cleveland, where two sharp defensive plays by third baseman Ken Keltner finally robbed him.
Along the way DiMaggio shattered Wee Willie Keeler’s 44-game record from 1897. During the streak he batted an extraordinary .408 with 15 home runs and 55 runs batted in.
No one has come within a dozen games of it since.
The nearest modern challenge was Pete Rose’s 44-game run in 1978, which merely tied Keeler’s old mark. Statisticians regard DiMaggio’s 56 as one of the most durable records in all of sport, and the streak is the first line on his Baseball Hall of Fame plaque.
Sources & references
2 referencesWell-established. Corroborated by 2 independent sources.
