Seattle Now and Then

Seattle Now & Then: Joe DiMaggio at Fort Lawton during WWII, 1944

4 Comments

(click and click again to enlarge photos)

THEN: Joe DiMaggio stands along the first-base line in a Fort Lawton uniform in late May 1944, at what is believed to be the original baseball field at the south end of the fort’s Parade Grounds. The photo was first published in The Seattle Times Dec. 13, 1951, after DiMaggio announced his major-league retirement. (Seattle Times, courtesy Mike Bandli)
NOW: Fort Lawton researcher and Magnolia resident Mike Bandli chokes up on a DiMaggio bat (loaned by Dave Eskenazi) while donning a Yankees cap. A meteorite hunter and dealer, Bandli pinpointed what he feels certain is the precise repeat location based on shadows, topography, GPS and a 3D laser (LIDAR) image of the park grounds. In back, Mark Lucas and daughter Stella play kickball. (Jean Sherrard)

(Published in the Seattle Times online on July 23, 2020
and in PacificNW Magazine of the print Times on July 26, 2020)

Joltin’ G.I. Joe DiMiaggio was once on Fort Lawton’s side
By Clay Eals

Where have you gone, big-league baseball stars? Our nation turns pandemic eyes to you. Woo-woo-woo.

This lyric update of Paul Simon’s “Mrs. Robinson” may capture the mood of diamond fans who, because of a season stalled by the coronavirus, have been left with visions of the past.

One such apparition is Joe DiMaggio. Some call him baseball’s best. He also could be the most fabled, not just because Simon enshrined him in song. Joe’s troubled marriage and poignant devotion to second wife Marilyn Monroe, post-divorce, is the stuff of legend.

DiMaggio’s 13-year big-league career – topped by a 56-game hitting streak in 1941, never equaled in the majors – came in New York Yankees pinstripes, after three stellar seasons with the Pacific Coast League San Francisco Seals.

So why, in our “Then,” is Joe in uniform for Fort Lawton, the longtime Army post on Magnolia Bluff that Seattle transformed in 1973 into Discovery Park?

The answer lies in World War II patriotism. Like other stars facing a new draft, DiMaggio enlisted instead. He played in Army Air Forces exhibition games in 1943-1945 to entertain troops in California, Hawaii and New Jersey.

En route to Honolulu in early June 1944, the elegant outfielder played at least two games at Fort Lawton. He arrived May 16, four days after finalization of a divorce from his first wife, movie actress Dorothy Arnold, and soon suited up for the fort.

Coverage of his Seattle stint was cryptic. “A team of soldiers which could probably win the World Series played a baseball game here yesterday, civilians barred,” stated a May 25 blurb by Royal Brougham, Seattle Post-Intelligencer sports editor. “Price of admission to the diamond performance by Joe DiMaggio, … etc., was an Army or Navy uniform. There are times when being a G.I. isn’t so bad.”

The wartime games were not Joe’s sole Seattle stops.

For the PCL Seals in 1933-1935, says historian Dave Eskenazi, he hit .411 (30 for 73) against the Seattle Indians at grassless Civic Field, site of today’s Seattle Center. In 1933, at just 18, he played there in eight games while compiling a 61-game hitting streak, still the second longest such feat in pro baseball history. (The longest: 69 games by Joe Wilhoit of the Western League’s Wichita Jobbers in 1919.)

In retirement, the Yankee Clipper often revisited our city. He lunched with Seattle baseball legend Fred Hutchinson in 1959, coached for the Oakland A’s against the Seattle Pilots in 1969, dedicated the “Hutch” cancer center in 1975, golfed in a 1980 tourney and tossed out first pitches for the Seattle Mariners at the Kingdome in 1978 and 1985.

What’s that you say, local baseball fans? Joltin’ Joe was never far away. Hey-hey-hey.

WEB EXTRAS

To see Jean Sherrard‘s 360-degree video of the “Now” prospect and compare it with the “Then” photo, and to hear this column read aloud by Clay Eals, check out our Seattle Now & Then 360 version of the column!

Below are five additional photos, as well as 35 clippings from The Seattle Times online archive (available via Seattle Public Library) and other online newspaper sources that were helpful in the preparation of this column. Also, as a bonus, see the four images at bottom of a signed Fort Lawton ball from 1943-1944!

LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) image of Fort Lawton shows the location of the baseball field in the fort’s south parade grounds. (Courtesy Mike Bandli)
A 1936 aerial photo of Fort Lawton shows the location of the baseball field in the fort’s south parade grounds. (Courtesy Mike Bandli)
A 1946 aerial of the Magnolia peninsula, including the ballfield. (Courtesy Ron Edge)
May 5, 1959, Joe DiMaggio has lunch in Seattle with local baseball legend Fred Hutchinson. (George Carkonen, courtesy Dave Eskenazi)
April 1969, prior to an Oakland A’s/Seattle Pilots game at Sicks’ Seattle Stadium are (from left) A’s hitting coach Joe DiMaggio, former Cleveland Indians slugger Jeff Heath, Hall-of-Famer Earl Averill Sr. and Pilots coach and former New York Yankees legend Frank Crosetti. (Dr. Bill Hutchinson, courtesy Dave Eskenazi)
These games took place at Sicks’ Stadium between the Oakland A’s and the Seattle Pilots in 1969, when Joe DiMaggio served as the A’s hitting coach. (BaseballReference.com)
April 26, 1969: Joe DiMaggio receives the Fred Hutchinson Major League Award at Sicks’ Stadium from Seattle restaurateur Bill Gasperetti. See stories below. (Courtesy Dave Eskenazi)
May 13, 1944, Seattle Times, page 12.
May 17, 1944, Seattle Times, page 16.
May 20, 1944, Seattle Times, page 8.
May 21, 1944, Seattle Times, page 24.
May 23, 1944, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Royal Brougham column.
June 8, 1944, Seattle Times, page 11.
June 10, 1944, Wilmington Morning Star.
July 16, 1944, Seattle Times, page 14.
July 24, 1944, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, Royal Brougham column.
Sept. 9, 1944, Jackson Advocate.
Nov. 12, 1944, Evening Star, Bob Hope column.
Nov. 30, 1944, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, page 16.
Dec. 6, 1944, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, page 167.
Dec. 23, 1944, Wilmington Morning Star.
Dec. 29, 1944, Wilmington Morning Star.
Dec. 31, 1944, Wilmington Morning Star.
Dec. 13, 1951, Seattle Times, page 35.
May 5, 1959, Seattle Times, page 26.
May 8, 1959, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, page 2.
April 23, 1969, Seattle Times, page 72.
April 27, 1969, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, page 24.
April 27, 1969, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, page 25.
April 27, 1969, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, page 28.
April 27, Seattle Times, page 37.
April 28, 1969, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, page 42.
July 10, 1969, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, page 51.
March 5, 1970, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, page 54.
Sept. 6, 1975, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, page 1.
Sept. 6, 1975, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, page 3.
March 30, 1978, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, page 28.
April 5, 1978, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, page 47.
April 6, 1978, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, page 49.
April 6, 1978, Seattle Times, page 18.
July 1, 1980, Seattle Times, page 14, Walter Evans column.
May 11, 1985, Seattle Times, page 17.
May 22, 1985, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, page 50.
Signed baseball used in 1943 or 1944 at Fort Lawton. See red lettering in middle. (Courtesy Dave Eskenazi)
Signed baseball used in 1943 or 1944 at Fort Lawton. (Courtesy Dave Eskenazi)
Signed baseball used in 1943 or 1944 at Fort Lawton. Note signature of local favorite Earl Torgeson. (Courtesy Dave Eskenazi)
Signed baseball used in 1943 or 1944 at Fort Lawton. (Courtesy Dave Eskenazi)

4 thoughts on “Seattle Now & Then: Joe DiMaggio at Fort Lawton during WWII, 1944”

  1. I recall a large boulder with a plaque describing the baseball fields along the trail that went from the south entrance near Magnolia Boulevard toward the cliffs. That would be further south than the location described in this article. I didn’t see it the last time I was at the park, but I could have missed it, or it was moved. Do you or any other readers have information on it?

    In any case, interesting article. Thanks.

    Reply

    1. Hi Victor,

      Thank you for the comment! The only baseball field that was farther south than the one DiMaggio played on was the southwest baseball field, towards the bluff. This field replaced the original south Parade Grounds field and did not yet exist during DiMaggio’s visit in 1944. It was built between the end of WW2 and the beginning of the Korean War as part of the Fort’s redevelopment.

      The only boulder with plaque I am aware of on the property is the memorial to “Freedom Grove”, which was dedicated on Memorial Day in 1951 to troops who lost their lives in War. However this one has no connection to baseball.

      Mike

      Reply

      1. Thanks for your reply. Very interesting how that all ties together.

  2. Great job, Clay, on your July 23, 2020 Then & Now column on DiMaggio, Seattle, and Mrs. Robinson. You taught me and delighted me all at once! Keep up the good work..

    Reply

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.