On May 15, 1941, in an otherwise forgettable 13-1 loss to the Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees center fielder Joe DiMaggio singled in four at-bats. The 9,040 fans at Yankee Stadium likely hardly took notice — and it’s almost certain that no one in the sparse crowd left the ballpark that day knowing they had just seen the start of something momentous.
See also: Test your baseball smarts.
The game marked the beginning of DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, which lasted through mid-July and set a major league record that has hardly been threatened in the 70 years since. DiMaggio was a baseball star before the streak began — by its end just over two months later, he was an American legend.
How much do you know about DiMaggio and his amazing record? Take our quiz and test your streak smarts. When you're finished, check our scorecard to see how you did.
Scorecard
0-30% right: Swing and a miss! That’s a strikeout — which DiMaggio did only five times during his entire 56-game streak.
31-55% right: A solid single up the middle. Joltin’ Joe would be proud. 56 of his 91 hits during the streak were base knocks.
56-85% right: A bases-clearing double. During the streak, DiMaggio drove in 55 runs.
86-100% right: Take a well-deserved home run trot, slugger — just like Joe D. did 15 times during his streak.
Photos by Corbis and Getty Images.
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