Joe DiMaggio has been revered, and now remembered, as an Italian-American hero, one whose achievements differed sharply from other famous and notorious Italian-Americans, such as `Lucky' Luciano, Al Capone and Frank Sinatra. However, in many ways DiMaggio was not Italian at all. One need only mention his regal bearing, how frequently the phrase `classy' was applied to this high school drop-out, and his difficult, if not tragic, personal life, in order to appreciate the irony of DiMaggio being cast as the representative of a group better known for its earthiness and family-centered gregariousness. This article will use DiMaggio's public persona as a focal point for exploring some of the intriguing relationships between sport and ethnicity in American popular culture.
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