DiMaggio treasures heading to auction
BY OWEN MORITZ
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER
Tuesday, January 24th, 2006

An heir to Joe DiMaggio's estate jolted the auction market yesterday, offering up a huge trove of the Yankee legend's memorabilia, including World Series rings, his 1947 MVP award and a signed photo of Marilyn Monroe.
A Pennsylvania auction house, Hunt Auctions Inc., announced the DiMaggio collection will be sold May 19 and 20 at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. Some of the take will benefit the Joe DiMaggio Children's Hospital in Florida.
The sale includes a set of World Series rings from 1936-1942 and 1946-1951, Joe's nonwar playing days, and rings presented to him from 1952 to 1996 by the Yankee front office.
The lot also includes the ball DiMaggio slugged for a base hit in Game 45 of his record 56-game hit streak in 1941. That hit broke the old record of hits in 44 consecutive games set by Wee Willie Keeler in 1897.
Auction house officials say it's too early to put a presale estimate for the items. "We're still going through the catalogue," a Hunt Auctions official said.
Joltin' Joe, who died March 8, 1999, at 84 from complications of lung cancer surgery, left much of his estate to Paula Sue DiMaggio Hamra, one of two kids adopted by DiMaggio's late son, Joe DiMaggio Jr.
Hamra is believed to be the source of the auction, but she did not return calls from her California home. Hunt Auctions had no comment. The Monroe photo is a remnant from DiMaggio's nine-month marriage to the blond bombshell in 1954. He never spoke about the relationship, but reportedly sent flowers to Monroe's grave for years after her death in 1962.