Before Joe DiMaggio wears No. 5

Joe DiMaggio during his first at-bat with the Yankees on May 3, 1936

The New York Yankees’ great center fielder and No. 5 in your program, Joe DiMaggio, is neither 88 years ago today as he makes his major league debut playing left field and wearing No. 9 in a 14-5 victory over the St. Louis Browns before a Sunday afternoon crowd of 25,430 in the Bronx.

DiMaggio wears No. 9 throughout his rookie season before switching to his iconic No. 5 in 1937, when he becomes the Yankees' everyday center fielder.

Nick Etten

With the exception of first baseman Nick Etten from 1943-45, when DiMaggio is serving in the Army, no other Yankee wears No. 5 after DiMaggio claims it for his own in 1937.

Oh, yeah, DiMaggio goes 3-for-6 in his first game with the Yankees.

Historians note that DiMaggio’s soon-to-be No. 5 is worn for the Yankees in 1936 by infielder Frankie Crosetti.

Crosetti has the honor of wearing three numbers during his time in New York as a player and coach with all of them being retired by the Yankees.

Frankie Crosetti

Alas, not because of Crosetti, a lifetime .245 hitter over 17 seasons as an infielder in the Bronx. After his No. 5 goes to DiMaggio in 1937, Crosetti switches his uniform number first to No. 1 and then 2 with the Yankees decades later retiring both numbers in honor of manager Billy Martin and Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter.

As for DiMaggio, he ends up playing 13 seasons with the Yankees, hitting .325 in 1,736 games with 361 home runs.

Just as impressive on DiMaggio’s Hall of Fame resume are a record 56-game hitting streak during the 1941 season, 13 American League All-Star selections in 13 seasons, three A.L. Most Valuable Player Awards, two A.L. batting titles and nine World Series championships.

Longtime Yankees outfielder and teammate Tommy Henrich needs only seven words to best sum up DiMaggio’s career, saying, “He does everything better than anyone else.”