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Like Joe & Marilyn: Verlander and Kate Upton latest athlete/celebrity pairing.
Detroit Athletic
Justin Verlander is not the first major league athlete to become romantically associated with a celebrity. And he certainly won?t be the last. The recent revelation that Verlander and supermodel Kate Upon have become engaged has drawn a mixed reaction from fans of the Detroit Tigers. Some have passed along their congratulations to the seemingly happy couple, while others skeptically claim that Verlander hasn?t been the same pitcher since he started dating the 2012 and 2013 Sports Illustrated cover girl.
The Verlander/Upton romance is the latest in a long trend for among major league ballplayers, who have a habit of dating Hollywood starlets and stars, fashion models, and heiresses. I guess it shouldn?t be so surprising. Many players are good-looking and well-conditioned, and almost all of them are wealthy, with minimum salaries of over $500,000 and an average salary in the neighborhood of $4 million per season. Even when players weren?t particularly well-paid, they were still regarded as celebrities themselves, playing the wholesome and popular game of baseball. As the old saying goes, what?s not to like?
We can find many, many cases of ballplayers who have crossed over into the world of Hollywood and the gossip column. Let?s examine a few of the most famous examples of players who have dated actresses and models, and some of whom have even gone to the altar with them.
Ralph Kiner and Elizabeth Taylor
The Pittsburgh Pirates? slugger never married Taylor, but he did go on a memorable date with her. Kiner accompanied Taylor to the premiere of the 1949 film, Twelve O?Clock High, the famous war movie that starred Gregory Peck. Kiner admitted to having some help in setting up that date. ?At that time few players got a shot at dating the movie people,? Kiner said many years later. ?One of the reasons I was able to [do that] was that Bing Crosby was one of the owners of the Pirates. But I met Janet Leigh at Forbes Field when she was working on Angels in the Outfield. She was standing at the batting cage, and I got to know her by talking to her. So that was all on my own.?
Kiner?s dalliance with Taylor didn?t endure past the one date, but his relationship with Leigh, the mother of Jamie Lee Curtis, lasted a bit longer. According to some rumors, Kiner also dated Ava Gardner and Jane Russell, but those relationships were never verified. Kiner eventually married Nancy Chaffee, who was a star tennis player of the 1950s. They remained married for 17 years, producing three children, before divorcing in 1968. Chaffee later married ABC sportscaster Jack Whitaker.
Bo Belinsky and Mamie Van Doren
When it came to dating celebrities, Belinsky was the Babe Ruth of ballplayers?well at least until Derek Jeter came along. At one time or another, he was romantically linked to dancer Juliet Prowse and actresses Ann-Margret, Connie Stevens, and even Tina Louise (yes, Ginger Grant of Gilligan?s Island fame). But his most memorable Hollywood relationship seems to have been with Mamie Van Doren. In fact, the couple were engaged for about half a year, though they never did marry.
??Our life was a circus,? Van Doren told the New York Times after hearing of Belinsky?s death in 2001. ?We were engaged on April Fool?s Day and broke the engagement on Halloween. It was a wild ride, but a lot of fun.?
Later on, Belinsky did marry, but not Van Doren. Instead, he wed Playboy Playmate of the Year Jo Collins. After they divorced, he later married heiress Janie Weyerhaeuser.
Belinsky?s life as a Hollywood player who hustled pool and drank considerably amazed both teammates and opponents alike. As former major league first baseman Mike Hegan once said, ?Bo had more fun off the field than he did on the field.? Indeed.
Alex Rodriguez and Madonna
Like many of the other stars on this list, A-Rod has dated a bevy of celebrities, including actresses Kate Hudson and Cameron Diaz and former pro wrestler Torrie Wilson. But none of those romances created the headlines of his rumored affair with pop culture icon Madonna, which reportedly led to his divorce from wife Cynthia.
Us Weekly reported that A-Rod made regular late-night visits to Madonna?s apartment, located in New York City. Rodriguez denied the affair, claiming that he and the singer were merely friends.
Whatever the truth, Rodriguez moved on to Hudson in the summer of 2009. Hudson, her mother Goldie Hawn, and stepfather Kurt Russell could sometimes be seen attending Yankee games together.
Rodriguez now dates Anne Wojcicki, who is not an actress or singer but is the billionaire ex-wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
Derek Jeter and Hannah Davis
The list of Jeter?s famous girlfriends could fill an old edition of The Baseball Encyclopedia, but let?s do our best. There have been singers (Mariah Carey and Joy Enriquez), actresses (Jessica Biel, Jessica Alba, Jordana Brewster, Minka Kelly, and Scarlett Johansson), beauty queens (Lara Dutta and Vanessa Minnillo), and models (Adriana Lima).
Now, for the first time in his life, Jeter is engaged. Late last year, he announced plans to eventually marry Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, Hannah Davis, a veteran of a series of TV commercials for Direct TV. (Those were the ones in which Davis could be seen talking to a horse.) Davis also had a bit part in the remake of the film, Vacation.
There has been no word as to when a wedding might take place, though it will be interesting to see if Jeter and Davis wait until after his expected election to the Hall of Fame, slated for the summer of 2020.
Joe DiMaggio and Marilyn Monroe
Of all the documented ballplayer/celebrity relationships, none can top the A-list linking between ?Joltin? Joe? and the former Norma Jean Baker. The two met shortly after DiMaggio divorced his first wife, Dorothy Arnold. Initially, Monroe wanted no part of DiMaggio, fearing that he would be an arrogant and egotistical athlete. On their first date, Joe barely spoke about himself; in fact, he hardly spoke at all to Marilyn, but the silence and the mystery intrigued her. DiMaggio almost immediately realized that he wanted to marry Marilyn. They did so on January 14, 1954, eloping in his hometown of San Francisco, where DiMaggio had grown up.
Sadly, their marriage lasted less a year. DiMaggio tended to be obsessive and possessive, attempting to control Monroe, from the way that she dressed to the films that she chose to star in. The couple often argued, even in public. One of their most famous fights occurred after Monroe appeared in a suggestive photo publicizing the film, The Seven Year Itch.
In October of 1954, Monroe filed for divorce. On numerous occasions, DiMaggio tried to win her back, even helping her fight her addictions to drugs and alcohol. But Monroe died in 1962 from what was reported to be a drug overdose. Though mystery has always shrouded the details of her death, DiMaggio believed it to be a suicide.
For the rest of his life, DiMaggio made sure to have fresh roses sent to Monroe?s grave twice a week. On his deathbed in 1999, DiMaggio reportedly said, ?I?ll finally get to see Marilyn again.?
While it?s doubtful that Verlander and Upton?s marriage will draw the same kind of attention as the DiMaggio/Monroe pairing, we can certainly hope for a better long-term outcome. It?s never easy when two celebrities are married; the level of media exposure becomes doubled. Hopefully, the media will give the couple a break?and not put all of the blame on Upton if Verlander continues to struggle in 2016.
