Dough DiMaggio

NEW YORK, NY (Rich Schapiro and Madison J. Gray) - Joltin' Joe DiMaggio memorabilia went under the hammer yesterday as Yankees die-hards bid thousands of dollars for his most-prized possessions.

Souvenirs from the Hall of Fame slugger included a home uniform he wore at his final World Series in 1951. The pinstriped flannel uniform, with the Yankee Clipper's No. 5 on the back, was bought from Hunt Auctions by an anonymous phone bidder for an astounding $195,500.

"It's unbelievable it went for so much," said Yankees fan Chris Johnstone, 37, of Florida. "But I think it should have gone for more. After all, it was the World Series."

One of the hottest items at the auction in the Marriott Marquis hotel in Times Square was the ball the Yankee Clipper whacked in 1941 to break Wee Willie Keeler's 44-game hitting-streak record. The ball fetched $63,250. The day's most costly item, DiMaggio's 1947 Most Valuable Player award, was sold for $281,750 to the owner of a midtown collectibles shop.

Two handwritten letters from DiMaggio's one-time wife Marilyn Monroe were also coveted by many fans and collectors eager for a piece of history.

Among the curious at to the two-day auction was 18-year-old Travis Viola, a recent high school graduate from Manhattan whose devotion to the Yankees legend was marked by his DiMaggio jersey.

"Joe DiMaggio is a hero of mine," Viola said. "To own a piece of memorabilia of his, that would be amazing."

The fans came from across the nation for the chance to own anything linked to DiMaggio. Vinnie Valentino, 43, of Tampa, admired a glass display case containing paintings of the slugger.

"One of these will be above my TV by Monday," Valentino vowed.

"I guess everyone wants a piece of Joe," said Gary Cypres, 42, a sports-memorabilia collector from Los Angeles who paid $15,000 for a trophy and a photo album that was presented to the center fielder at Yankee Stadium on "Joe DiMaggio Day," Oct. 1, 1949.

Bobby Brocato, a doctor from Louisiana, went to the auction to buy a silver-plated ice bucket that his father had given DiMaggio in the 1940s.

"I had to bring it home," he said after spending $2,100. "My daddy would've wanted me to do that."