Dr. G.B. Espy, who died in 2024, was an Atlanta-based OB-GYN who delivered over 20,000 babies (more than any other doctor in Georgia), worked on global medical missions, and as physician to the Georgia Tech football team. He was also an avid collector of sports and entertainment memorabilia, and items from his collection – including important documents and photographs relating to Marilyn Monroe and Joe DiMaggio – were sold at Julien’s Auctions in 2019 – see here.
A second auction, American Greats: Vintage Sports and Hollywood from the Dr. G.B. Espy Collection, was held at Christie’s in New York on October 22, 2025, with a New York Yankees jersey worn by Lou Gehrig at his final game in 1939 topping bids at $2.7 million.
In the first of four posts on this auction, I’m taking a closer look at the star-crossed DiMaggio romance. Among thirty Monroe-related lots, the highest selling item (and seventh highest overall) was her US Department of Defence identification card, signed under her legal name of Norma Jeane DiMaggio on February 8, 1954 – fetching $176,400.
Six days earlier, Marilyn had flown to Tokyo with husband Joe, who was training baseball teams in Japan. (Interestingly, a passport photo of Marilyn shot on en route, during a layover in Honolulu, sold for over $21,000 at RR Auctions this summer.)
The couple were mobbed on arrival, with Marilyn attracting as much – if not more – attention as the legendary athlete she’d married less than a month before. On February 9, a day after Marilyn’s card was issued, the couple visited a US Airbase in Fukuoka; and on February 15, she began a 4-day tour of South Korea, singing for American troops, while Joe continued his work in Japan.
A set of 10 snapshots showing Marilyn in Korea – last seen at Bonham’s in 2009 – sold for $8,190.
Jean O’Doul, wife of Joe’s baseball buddy Lefty O’Doul, can be glimpsed alongside Marilyn and US soldiers in some images.
Although not much of a baseball fan herself, Marilyn’s relationship with the sport pre-dated DiMaggio. While promoting Love Happy in 1949, she acted as mascot for a Chicago Cubs game at Wrigley Field; and in 1951, she posed with members of the White Sox. These shots caught Joe’s eye – and after they started dating, Marilyn played celebrity mascot at charity games in Los Angeles and was awarded a metal disc reading ‘Marilyn Monroe Champs – ’52‘, presented on a wooden plaque. This award, which has sold for $1,764 at Christie’s, also reflects her popularity with troops overseas, as a ‘Capt. Weatherford’ is named on the disc, suggesting this was a servicemens’ team.
In the early days of their marriage, Marilyn stayed at Joe’s family home in San Francisco. A menu from DiMaggio’s Restaurant on Fisherman’s Wharf, signed by both Marilyn and Joe, sold for $21,420.
In September the couple visited Marilyn’s How to Marry a Millionaire co-star David Wayne backstage on Broadway, where he was starring in Teahouse of the August Moon. A playbill signed by Marilyn and Joe sold for $15,120 this week. Sadly, the DiMaggios’ happiness was not to last and their separation went public in October.
An original press photo of Joe and Marilyn at the New York premiere of The Seven Year Itch on June 1st, 1955 (Marilyn’s 29th birthday), which sold for $3,528, is captioned ‘HOLDING HANDS AGAIN.’ But while they remained good friends, there was no reconciliation. A final judgement of divorce, stamped by the California Superior Court on October 31, 1955, has been sold for $12,600.
Dr. Espy’s collection also includes items shedding light on Marilyn’s life before and after Joe, which I’ll review in my next post.
The Marilyn Report 
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