DiMaggio estate signs licensing deal

NEW YORK, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Joe DiMaggio's estate will license his name for clothing, baseball memorabilia and other products, agents in the deal say.

Trading cards, bats, T-shirts and jerseys will be sold for the 70th anniversary of the Yankee great's 56-game hitting streak this spring, Michelle Alfandari of MODA Licensing told the New York Post. Long-term plans call for a whole line of products, focused on men's clothing and accessories but ranging from food to fragrances.

"Joe's style, grace and elegance transcended sports," said Elizabeth Kanna of Dominant Players, which will manage the branding strategy. She said the deal is worth unspecified "millions and millions."

Another licensing firm recently won the rights to the image of DiMaggio's one-time wife Marilyn Monroe.

Some of the merchandise will target men in their 20s -- born decades after the slugger retired in 1951. DiMaggio died in 1999.

Morris Engelberg, the estate's lawyer, told the Post, "When Joe was on his deathbed, he gripped me by the tie and said 'You better protect my name.' I think the reality is that I probably held back too long -- I owed it to the children and family."