Joe DiMaggio

The Selling Of The Joe DiMaggio Brand

Filed under: Sports

Last month I wrote about the multi-million dollar deal for the rights to Marilyn Monroe's name. Now comes news that one of her husbands, the late "Yankee Clipper" Joe DiMaggio is also stepping into the spotlight as a consumer product brand. The estate of the baseball player has agreed to put his name and likeness on a variety of new products.

Bats, t-shirts and other merchandise will commemorate the 70th anniversary of DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak but that's not all. The DiMaggio brand will also be extended into men's clothing and accessories and could also include food and fragrance. The legend of DiMaggio, both because of his connection to Monroe, and because of his legendary sports prowess, is one that has stood the test of time. Even people who were not alive when he was playing baseball are familiar with his name. The 13-time All-Star and nine-time World Series champ last played in 1951 and died in 1999.

Morris Engelberg, the baseball star's longtime friend and lawyer, told the NY Post that he waited so long to make a deal because when DiMaggio was on his deathbed he asked Engelberg to protect his name. Engelberg will serve as counsel for the licensing initiative and plans to be vigilant in protecting the legacy of the baseball star.

Tags: Joe DiMaggio, marilyn monroe, naming rights

Joe DiMaggio's Longines Watch Up For Auction

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Auctions

The December 8th Antiquorum auction in New York city is impressive because it is the first time I can recall where there are no Patek Philippe watches available! Amazing. One of the pieces up for bids is this small 14k pink gold wrist watch that belonged to (and was worn by) historic New York Yankees baseball player Joe DiMaggio. Estimated to have been made in the 1940s, the rectangular wrist watch has a gold and steel strap, and a dial with diamond hour markers. Further, classic Longines watches are also experiencing increased interest from some collectors. The auction also happens to include a pocket watch that was given to DiMaggio in the 1970s. Auction estimates for the Longines wrist watch are between $5,000 - $7,000.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: auction, dimaggio, Joe DiMaggio, longines, watch

Joe DiMaggio Watch Up for Auction

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Auctions

Joe DiMaggio's very own watch is up for auction this holiday season; not just the same kind of watch he used to wear, but the very watch.

It is a Wittnauer (Longines) Electro-Chron, which was the first watch in the world to require a battery, and the last to come before quartz technology. It comes with a tuning fork.

The watch is engraved on the back with:

Old Timers' Day
7-28-62
Joe DiMaggio

The Electro-Chron also happens to be a deal; It recently sold at Christie's for $13,750 and is now available here at Antiquorum for an estimated $10,000 - $12,000.

[via Hodinkee]

Tags: auction, baseball, celebrity, celebrity auction, CelebrityAuction, dimaggio, joe dimaggio, JoeDimaggio, timepiece, watch