Actually, He Should Have Been Nicknamed "The Yankee Clapper"

As a postscript to our story about Joe DiMaggio’s hostile attitude and malingering ways during his military tenure, U.S. Army personnel records reveal that the baseball star was formally discharged after he was diagnosed with “Pyschoneurosis Not Resulting From Combat.”

The New York Yankees star was discharged a few months after two Washington pols lobbied on his behalf with Army brass, documents show. In one conversation for which a transcript was prepared, Senator Albert “Happy” Chandler asked a general to review DiMaggio’s case and see if the athlete was medically fit to remain in the armed forces.

In the May 1945 call, Chandler, who had just been named baseball’s commissioner but was still serving in the Senate, claimed that DiMaggio had “sacrificed a great deal.” To which the Army commander replied, “He is a neurotic individual too.”

The Army documents also note that DiMaggio disclosed that he had a bout of gonorrhea in 1938, with “no recurrence.” This revelation, of course, will now require the issuance of revised editions of 742 Marilyn Monroe biographies.