Lelands... Have You No Shame?

Where have you gone, Joe DiMaggio,
Our nation turns it's lonely eyes to you.

Somehow I doubt Paul Simon was thinking about this future auction when he wrote Mrs. Robinson.

Yhea... Lelands Auction house is currently running an auction, and I plan on highlighting some Dodger rarities (including items from Sal LaRocca's Collection) soon, but before I get there I thought I'd bring up an item that is currently overshadowing all of the rare cards and memorabilia within the catalog. It is a group of photographs that Lelands describes as "no different that a Botticelli nude or a Robert Mapplethorpe." It's a nude of "Joltin" Joe DiMaggio.

That's right, you read that correctly.

There is a photograph of DiMaggio in his birthday suit while in the shower with his hands clasped (as if clapping), likely in a sort of team meeting or celebration after a game. Somehow a photographer was amongst the crowd and snapped some pics that would, if Joe were alive today, cause the wrath of Joe's mighty hammer to come down and kill that photographer. On top of that, Lelands and all of their cohorts would certainly not live past the day. Fortunately for them, Joe is dead and his (alleged) underground friends don't wield the kind of power that struck fear in the eyes of men, so the auction will go on and America once again wonders "where have you gone."

I won't post a pic of it here. I'm just too damn bashful and respectful to do that. Heck, this blog is a family place. But if you must see it, check out SCD or the actual auction listing here. There happens to be nudey photographs of Bob Feller with his team in the shower, as well.

UPDATE: I wanted to add this one thing to just highlight how far down that ugly road our country and our culture has really gone down. Taken from Wikipedia:

Shortly after DiMaggio's death, (Paul) Simon discussed this meeting and explained that the line was meant as a sincere tribute to DiMaggio's unpretentious heroic stature, in a time when popular culture magnifies and distorts how we perceive our heroes. He further reflected: "In these days of Presidential transgressions and apologies and prime-time interviews about private sexual matters, we grieve for Joe DiMaggio and mourn the loss of his grace and dignity, his fierce sense of privacy, his fidelity to the memory of his wife and the power of his silence."

Indeed. Joe DiMaggio, where have you gone?

(Hat Tip: SCD)