Report: DiMaggio in Grave Condition

Joe DiMaggio is in grave condition at his home, permanently bedridden and using a ventilator, the New York Daily News reported Sunday.

The 84-year-old baseball great was released from the hospital Jan. 18 because there was nothing else the hospital could do for him, the newspaper said, quoting an unidentified source.

DiMaggio spent 99 days in intensive care at Memorial Regional Hospital in Hollywood, Fla., after contracting lung cancer. He is too weak to undergo chemotherapy.

Meanwhile, NBC blamed a technician who accidentally pressed a wrong button for its airing Sunday of an erroneous report on “Dateline NBC” that DiMaggio had died.

The report was corrected about 20 minutes after it was broadcast. It came on as a crawl, or words running at the bottom of the TV screen.

Although DiMaggio reportedly walked out on his own when he left the hospital, he was taken home on a stretcher, the paper said. He is receiving round-the-clock nursing care.

Yankee owner George Steinbrenner said at the time of DiMaggio’s release he was looking forward to having DiMaggio throw out the first ball at the Yankee home opener April 9.

Lawyer Morris Engelberg, a neighbor and longtime friend, visited DiMaggio on Sunday but did not return calls. Steinbrenner referred questions about DiMaggio to Engelberg.

DiMaggio entered the hospital Oct. 12 and had surgery two days later to remove a cancerous lung tumor. He then was stricken with pneumonia in his left lung and had fluid drained from his lung several times. He slipped into a coma last month and was given last rites.

DiMaggio’s last public appearance was Sept. 27, when he was honored at Yankee Stadium.