“I think some people have a hard time understanding how much of a hero he was. Most of his career, there was no TV, so what people knew about him was not from a television image. It was the real thing. Once you saw him play and saw the way he carried himself, it was something you didn’t forget. . . . There are people who we’d like to keep the way that we remember them forever.”
Former teammate and American League President Bobby Brown
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“He was an American hero and a legend for sure. For me just to be mentioned in the same breath, boy, I always felt like I was two steps below him. I thought I could hit with anybody, but he was in my opinion as good as any that ever played this game.”
Red Sox Hall of Fame outfielder Ted Williams
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“Joe was the pride of the Yankees. He was the pride of baseball.”
Cardinals Hall of Fame outfielder Stan Musial
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“In 1951, while I was still in high school, I went to New York to play in (an) All-Star game. They took us through the locker room and Joe was sitting in front of his locker. I stopped and shook his hand. It was like meeting a god.”
Tigers Hall of Fame outfielder Al Kaline
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“Joe could do it all. He was a great clutch hitter and just a great person. No one is ever going to replace him.”
Indians Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Feller
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“When I got the chance to play with him, I couldn’t believe I was on the mound and he was in center field.”
Yankees Hall of Fame pitcher Whitey Ford
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“I remember him never being associated with organized crime or bad things and therefore being good for my (Italian) people. . . . It wasn’t just his amazing athleticism, but the wordless inspiration of his grace, elegance and achievement that made his greatness an instruction.”
Former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo
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“There was an aura about him that was amazing. His persona extended beyond the playing field and touched all our hearts.”
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig
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“It was the class and dignity with which he led his life that made him part of all of us.”
Yankees owner George Steinbrenner
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“(DiMaggio) truly epitomized the `Hemingway Hero.’ He confronted adversity with grace under pressure. In an era when Mussolini was the dominant political image, Joe DiMaggio . . . lifted Italian-Americans to mainstream status.”
Joe Dorinson, author of “Jackie Robinson: Races, Sports and the American Dream”
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“This son of Italian immigrants gave every American something to believe in. He became the very symbol of American grace, power and skill. . . . I have no doubt that when future generations look back at the best of America in the 20th Century, they will think of the Yankee Clipper and all that he achieved.”
President Clinton
