“I saw Joe go down the aisle, I had no idea what was going on” said his wife Alice. Everyone – fans, spectators and ushers – was caught up in the magic of the perfect game, Joe casually found his way back to Alice, hat in hand. He had picked up the Yankee’s cap after it had fallen to the ground when catcher Yogi Berra jumped on the 6-4 hurler in a now-famous bear hug.
He offered to return it to Don Larsen on one condition, that Don Larsen show up in person at Marcello’s Sporting store. Larsen never made the trek to Boonton.
Joe passed away in Oct of 1993, The following year in May of 1994, his family donated the cap to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, where it will become part of the Don Larsen perfect-game display in a section of the Hall devoted to outstanding World Series events.