Family time with the DiMaggios

Joe DiMaggio, center, with brothers Vince, left, and Dom

For the first time in their pro careers, the DiMaggio brothers – Vince, Joe and Dom – play together in the outfield and represent the Pacific Coast League’s San Francisco Seals during a charity game 86 years ago today in California.

At the time in 1938, Vince is 26, Joe 23 and Dom 21 with Vince already playing two years in the majors with the Boston Braves and Joe finishing up his third straight World Series appearance for the New York Yankees.

As for Dom, he still is 16-plus months away from reaching the majors with the Boston Red Sox in 1940.

The three never play together in the majors, even though their careers overlap during the 1940s before Vince retires after the 1946 season with Joe following in 1951 and Dom in 1953.

Of course, they constantly play together while growing up in Northern California, first in Martinez and then San Francisco.

“If anyone wants to know why three kids in one family made it to the big leagues,” Joe DiMaggio later says, “they just had to know how we helped each other and how much we practiced back then. We did it every minute we could.”