Estate Wants DiMaggio Name Off Playground

Joe DiMaggio’s estate went to court this week demanding that a San Francisco playground be stripped of the legendary ballplayer’s name, saying that the park is not fit for the honor.

The estate asked a federal court in Miami to order the city and county to remove DiMaggio’s name and destroy any playground letterhead, promotional material or signs using his name. The complaint, filed Wednesday on behalf of DiMaggio LLC, also asks for unspecified damages.

The New York Yankees Hall of Famer and his brother Dom, an All-Star outfielder for the Boston Red Sox, played in the San Francisco park as children. But the estate contends that it is now rundown.

“The plaintiff doesn’t believe that it’s a fitting park or place that should carry the DiMaggio name,” said Miami attorney Jeffrey Herman.

Morris Engelberg, a trustee and attorney for DiMaggio’s estate, said naming North Beach Playground after DiMaggio “is both morally and legally wrong.”

“I promised Joe, not only during the years I was with him but also on his deathbed, to protect his name at whatever sacrifice to myself,” Engelberg said.

Joe DiMaggio died last year at his home in Hollywood, Fla., at 84.

Gavin Newsom, a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, said a $3.5-million renovation of the park is to begin this month.

The playground was named Joe DiMaggio North Beach Playground in February 1980. However, the name was not official until May 5, when San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown approved it.

Newsom said the name change “fell through the cracks” for 20 years.

Newsom noted that Engelberg has signed a $2-million book deal about his relationship with DiMaggio.

“Unfortunately, we’re dealing with someone who can potentially gain from this controversy,” he said.

Dom DiMaggio has said he has no problem with the park using DiMaggio’s name.

“That’s where we played as kids. It’s only a block from where we lived,” he said recently.