60 Second Symposium

By Harriet Barovick, Tam Gray, Lina Lofaro, David Spitz, Flora Tartakovsky and Chris Taylor

In the aftermath of JOE DIMAGGIO'S death, we asked two baseball aficionados who, in their opinion, will replace the Yankee Clipper as baseball's greatest living legend:

BOB COSTAS: Willie Mays was the best all-around player I ever saw. Hank Aaron's career achievements top any living player's. But the quality of legend is also dependent upon distance and a bit of mystery. Ted Williams was perhaps the greatest pure hitter ever, and his career largely predates the television era. Like DiMaggio, what we know and feel about him comes from personal recollections, old photos, and grainy film footage. Williams is the guy.

MARIO CUOMO: There are other living legends like Ted Williams, Willie Mays and Sandy Koufax, whose remarkable powers as baseball players approximate DiMaggio's. But none of these had the beyond-the-baseball dimension that gave DiMaggio a unique place as a popular icon. Their reputation, their image, is purely baseball. Williams was amazing at bat. Mays was a better hitter, almost as good an all-around player. But the truth is, DiMaggio appears to be irreplaceable.