by Tim Ott

On November 25, 1914, Joe DiMaggio was born to poor Sicilian immigrants in San Francisco. He grew up to become baseball's most famous player, a graceful outfielder with a regal presence off the field, but behind the always-impeccable appearance lurked a complicated man. Here are seven facts about the life of this imperfect but captivating American sports legend.

Go Fish

The fourth of five boys and eighth of nine children overall, DiMaggio was expected to join the family fishing business when he came of age. That presented a problem for the shy boy, who was repulsed by the smell of dead fish on his dad's boat. The path to greener pastures was paved by the third DiMaggio boy, Vince, who a) first defied their father to pursue a baseball career; and b) finagled a spot for his gifted brother on a local minor league team called the San Francisco Seals. DiMaggio's success with the Seals and then the New York Yankees proved to dad that a ballplayer could earn a comfortable living, with Vince and the youngest brother, Dominic, eventually carving out big league careers as well.

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Source: http://www.biography.com/