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Baseball Legend Joe DiMaggio Still Supports Students with Learning Disabilities

By Kristin Gabriel

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Published: 29Apr2009
Word count: 419
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Baseball legend Joe DiMaggio had a thing for students with learning disabilities. At Xaverian High School, the Joe DiMaggio Award was established in 1999 by its chairman, Dr. Rock Positano 1976, with the approval of the DiMaggio Estate, in memory of the baseball legend.

DiMaggio was a friend and generous supporter of Xaverian High School and was the first individual to receive Xaverian's highest honor, the Concordia Award, in 1997. DiMaggio died on March 8, 1999, with the honor of being known as "the greatest living baseball player."

Unless you are an avid baseball fan who loves baseball stars, you may not know that Joe played for the New York Yankees baseball team and his nickname was the "Yankee Clipper." In baseball, to 'clip' the ball means 'hit' the ball, and DiMaggio was a very good hitter. But 'Yankee Clipper' is also the name of a beautiful sailing ship. To the people who watching him play baseball, DiMaggio always looked as smooth and graceful as a clipper ship.

Xaverian's Concordia Award was renamed the Joe DiMaggio Award to memorialize DiMaggio's life-long commitment to the health, education, and well being of America's youth.

Dimaggio even has an award gala in his memory - The Joe DiMaggio Award Gala - a major fundraiser for Xaverian High and its program for students with learning disabilities.

Established in 1999 after the Yankee Clipper's death, the Joe DiMaggio Award's mission is to memorialize his "lifelong commitment to the health, education and well being of America's youth."

Adopted by the New York State Regents as the model of all such endeavors, since the Ryken Program's inception in 1994 (it was formerly known as the REACH Program), over 100 young men have graduated from this special initiative and all have gone on to four-year colleges.

Because Xaverian is private and tuition driven, all proceeds from the annual Gala benefit its many students. Besides the dinner and awards presentation, the evening usually always includes a silent auction of rare Joe DiMaggio memorabilia donated by the DiMaggio Estate and Morris Engelberg, Esq.

DiMaggio earned the Bay Ridge school's highest honor, formerly called the Concordia Award, in 1997. The award has since been presented to Dr. Henry Kissinger, Maestro Luciano Pavarotti, former mayor and current presidential hopeful Rudolph Giuliani, television personality Regis Philbin, singer/songwriter Paul Simon, Sopranos star James Gandolfini, CBS Sports commentator Boomer Esiason and NBC Emmy-Award winning sports broadcaster Bob Costas.

This year's May 2009 Joe DiMaggio Award Gala honors Reggie Jackson. This year's Master of Ceremonies is Jim Ryan, the Legendary Television Reporter and Anchorman.

Kristin Gabriel is an author and social media marketing professional and works with Rocco Basile of the the Basile Builders Group based in New York. Basile is involved with several charities including Children of the City and the Joe DiMaggio Committee for Xaverian High School.

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