Sports_World_diMaggio

As this May 1949 issue of Sports World attests, the springtime speculations from the sportswriters of yesteryear regarding names like Joe DiMaggio and Ted Williams was not unlike the perpetual dance of whether Brett Favre was to retire or not.

Although DiMaggio's production indeed waned in '49 due to injuries, he rebounded with another solid year in 1950, in which he lead the league in slugging at .585, hit 32 homers and drove in 122 runs, while batting a solid .301. The Yanks bested the Phillies that year to win the World Series.

Lucky for the Yankee faithful that a nineteen year old rookie named Mickey Mantle was being groomed to take DiMaggio's place in center field the following year..!