The Top Joe DiMaggio Baseball Cards

While his major league career only spanned 13 seasons, there are very few players who are as recognized in the history of the big leagues as today’s subject, an icon of the Yankees dynasty and a player noted for his skill and grace. 

Yet Joe DiMaggio appeared on far fewer cards during his career than one might expect, due to the time he played, a World War, and related paper rationing. But who was Joe DiMaggio? What are the top cards of DiMaggio? Let’s explore the best cards of the iconic Yankee Clipper.

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Who was Joe DiMaggio?

Outside of maybe Babe Ruth and Jackie Robinson, Joe DiMaggio is one of the most iconic names in baseball history. He’s certainly seen his share of pop culture attention, from Mrs. Robinson to Joltin’ Joe DiMaggio.

DiMaggio’s career is objectively great, but like contemporary Ted Williams, he missed three prime seasons to service in World War II. In DiMaggio’s case, those include his prime age 28, 29, and 30 seasons. He played with both Lou Gehrig early in his career and Mickey Mantle at the end, becoming an important link in the Yankee Dynasty of the 20^th century.

From his debut at age 21 in 1936 to his retirement in 1951 at age 36, DiMaggio was a picture of grace, skills, and winning. He was an All Star in every season he played in the big leagues. He played on an astounding nine World Championship teams during his 13-year career.  DiMaggio was a three-time MVP and won two batting titles.

DiMaggio had many amazing career highlights, but the most famous by far was his 56-game hitting streak in 1941. From May 15, 1941 through July 17, 1941, DiMaggio didn’t go hitless in a single game, setting a record unlikely to ever fall. He won one of his MVP awards that year, in part due to the record.

For his career, Joe DiMaggio hit .325/.398/.579, good for an OPS of .977 and 155 OPS+. He hit 361 home runs, drove in 1,537 runs and had 2,214 hits in only 13 seasons. He was worth 79.1 WAR, which ranks 7^th all-time among center fielders.

Joe DiMaggio was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1955.

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Joe DiMaggio Baseball Cards

According to the Trading Card Database at TCDB.com, Joe DiMaggio has appeared on 4,819 cards since his debut in 1935. Of those, only a scant 78 were produced during his playing career that ended in 1951.

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Joe DiMaggio’s rookie card

For a player as accomplished as DiMaggio, you’d think the question of “What is Joe DiMaggio’s Rookie Card?” would be an easy one to answer. But due to the era in which he played, it can actually be a bit tricky to determine.

But Joe DiMaggio’s early cards came in a time when few cards were produced, especially on any national stage. Throw in a World War in his prime and related paper shortages (and many players, including DiMaggio being enlisted and not playing), and early career DiMaggio cards are few and far between.

DiMaggio first appeared on cards back in 1936, but his consensus rookie card appears in the 1939 Playball set. Many of the cards that DiMaggio appeared on were either not nationally distributed, not major league cards, or just barely even qualify as “cards” by today’s standards.

There are actually two versions of the card, both an error and corrected version. On the back of the card, the error card states “206 hits in 1938 games”.

The correct version states “”206 hits in 138 games”. PSA doesn’t recognize the two versions. There is not a huge difference in price between the two that I can find. A much rarer “Sample” version is also available.

PSA has graded 1,718 copies of the non-sample version of the card. There are no PSA 10s, and only 13 PSA 9s. The last sale of a 9 was back in the summer of 2023, for a whopping $102,000. The last PSA 8 (of which there are 89) sold for $20,000.

In a PSA 5, of which there are close to 250 copies, sell for between $3,100 and $4,700, depending on eye appeal. Even in a PSA 1, these sell in the $800-900 range.

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Other great Joe DiMaggio baseball cards

One of DiMaggio’s first card appearances was in the 1936 World Wide Gum set. Some consider it his rookie card, although the card was produced in Canada so not all consider it a true rookie card.

It also has a very low PSA population, with only 38 graded copies. Of those, there’s one PSA 7 and one PSA 6, and none higher. The last sale in any grade was of a PSA 2 back in October of 2023 for $51,600.

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The somewhat cartoonish 1938 Goudey Heads-Up Joe DiMaggio has been graded just over 350 times by PSA. There are no PSA 10s and only 2 PSA 9s. The last sale of a PSA-graded copy was a PSA 5 that sold in September of 2024 for around $10,350.

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The 1940 Play Ball Joe DiMaggio #1 has been graded 626 times by PSA, with no PSA 10s and only two PSA 9s. A PSA 7 copy sold in February of 2025 for around $7,000. Recent sales of a PSA 1 have been in the $700 range.

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The 1941 Play Ball Joe DiMaggio #71 is a great card from an iconic set, which brings color into the mix. Just over 1,000 copies have been graded by PSA, with 1 PSA 10 and 5 PSA 9’s. The last sale of a PSA 5, back in April of 2025, for around $6,600.

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The multi-sport 1951 Berk Ross set features a late career DiMaggio on card 2-5. The card has been graded a little over 300 times by PSA, with no 9’s or 10’s. A PSA 6 sold in sold in July of 2024 for around $600, and a PSA 4 sold a month later for around $350.

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DiMaggio of course appeared on far more cards after his playing career than during, including reprints of some of these iconic cards, small boxed set, special editions, and ultra-modern cards including parallels.

DiMaggio passed away in 1999, missing most of the certified autograph era, but does appear in a few cut signature cards. The good news is that there are now almost 90 years’ worth of DiMaggio cards for collectors to choose from, with cards at every price point.

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Final thoughts on the top Joe DiMaggio baseball cards

Joe DiMaggio was one of the most iconic players of all time, and his cardboard offers up some rare cards more than worth of chasing. There is a DiMaggio card for just about any collecting interest and every budget.

What’s your favorite Joe DiMaggio card? Own one? Have one on your want list? Tell us about it at CardLines on X.

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