| Yogi Berra | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Berra with the New York Yankees in 1957 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Catcher /Manager | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born:(1925-05-12)May 12, 1925 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||
| Died: September 22, 2015(2015-09-22) (aged 90) West Caldwell, New Jersey, U.S. | |||||||||||||||||||
Batted: Left Threw: Right | |||||||||||||||||||
| MLB debut | |||||||||||||||||||
| September 22, 1946, for the New York Yankees | |||||||||||||||||||
| Last MLB appearance | |||||||||||||||||||
| May 9, 1965, for the New York Mets | |||||||||||||||||||
| MLB statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
| Batting average | .285 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hits | 2,150 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Home runs | 358 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Runs batted in | 1,430 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial record | 484–444 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Winning % | .522 | ||||||||||||||||||
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |||||||||||||||||||
| Managerial record at Baseball Reference | |||||||||||||||||||
| Teams | |||||||||||||||||||
| As player As manager As coach | |||||||||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Member of the National | |||||||||||||||||||
 Baseball Hall of Fame | |||||||||||||||||||
| Induction | 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Vote | 85.6% (second ballot) | ||||||||||||||||||
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Lawrence Peter "Yogi"Berra (bornLorenzo Pietro Berra; May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professionalbaseballcatcher who later took on the roles ofmanager andcoach. He played 19 seasons inMajor League Baseball (MLB) (1946–1963, 1965), all but the last for theNew York Yankees. He was an 18-timeAll-Star and won 10World Series championships as a player—more than any other player in MLB history.[2] Berra had a careerbatting average of .285, while hitting 358home runs and 1,430runs batted in. He is one of only six players to win theAmerican LeagueMost Valuable Player Award three times. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest catchers in baseball history,[3] and was elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame in1972.
Berra was born inSt. Louis, in an Italian community, and signed with the Yankees in 1943 before serving in theUnited States Navy as agunner's mate in theNormandy landings duringWorld War II. He made his major-league debut at age 21 in 1946 and was a mainstay in the Yankees' lineup during the team's championship years beginning in 1949 and continuing through 1962. Berra was apower hitter and strongdefensive catcher, despite being shorter than most in the league at 5 feet 7 inches [1.70 m] tall. Berra played 18 seasons with the Yankees before retiring after the 1963 season. He spent the next year as their manager, then joined theNew York Mets in 1965 as coach (and briefly a player again). Berra remained with the Mets for the next decade, serving the last four years as their manager. He returned to the Yankees in 1976, coaching them for eight seasons and managing for two, before coaching theHouston Astros. Berra appeared as a player, coach or manager in 13 of 15 World Series that New York baseball teams won from 1947 through 1981.[2] Overall, he played or coached in 21 World Series, 13 on the winning side. Berra caughtDon Larsen's perfect game in game five of the1956 World Series. He also holds the all-time record for shutouts caught with 173.[4]
The Yankeesretired his uniform number 8 in 1972;Bill Dickey had previously worn number 8, and both catchers had that number retired by the Yankees. The club honored him with a plaque inMonument Park in 1988. Berra was named to theMLB All-Century Team in a vote by fans in 1999. For the remainder of his life, he was closely involved with theYogi Berra Museum and Learning Center, which he opened on the campus ofMontclair State University in 1998. Berra quit school after the eighth grade.[5] He was known for hismalapropisms as well as pithy and paradoxical statements, such as "It ain't over 'til it's over" and "I really didn't say everything I said."[3][6]
Berra was born Lorenzo Pietro Berra in a primarily Italian neighborhood of St. Louis calledThe Hill on May 12, 1925. His parents were Italianimmigrants Pietro and Paolina (née Longoni) Berra.[7] Pietro was originally from Malvaglio nearMilan; he arrived atEllis Island on October 18, 1909, at the age of 23.[8] In a 2005 interview for the Baseball Hall of Fame, Berra said, "My father came over first. He came from the old country. And he didn't know what baseball was. He was ready to go to work. And then I had three other brothers and a sister. My brother and my mother came over later on. My two oldest brothers, they were born there—Mike and Tony. John and I and my sister Josie were born in St. Louis."[9]
Berra's parents originally gave him thenickname "Lawdie", which was derived from his mother's difficulty pronouncing "Lawrence" or "Larry" correctly. He grew up on Elizabeth Avenue, across the street from boyhood friend and later competitorJoe Garagiola. That block was also home toJack Buck early in his Cardinals broadcasting career, and it was later renamed "Hall of Fame Place".[10] Berra was aCatholic,[11] and he attended South Side Catholic, now calledSt. Mary's High School, in south St. Louis with Garagiola. Berra left school after the eighth grade due to a desire to work and assist the family’s finances. He has been inducted into theSt. Louis Walk of Fame.[12]
He began playing baseball in localAmerican Legion Baseball leagues, where he learned the basics of catching while playing both outfield and infield positions. While playing in American Legion Baseball, he received the nickname "Yogi" from his friendJack Maguire, who, after seeing a newsreel about India,[13] said that he resembled ayogi fromIndia whenever he sat around with arms and legs crossed waiting to bat or while looking sad after a losing game.[14]
In 1942, theSt. Louis Cardinals overlooked Berra in favor of his boyhood best friend,Joe Garagiola. On the surface, the Cardinals seemed to think that Garagiola was the superior prospect, but team presidentBranch Rickey actually had an ulterior motive. Rickey already knew that he was going to leave St. Louis to take over the operation of theBrooklyn Dodgers and was more impressed with Berra than he let on; he apparently had planned to hold Berra off until he could sign him for the Dodgers.[15] However, the Yankees signed Berra for the same $500 bonus ($9,600 in current dollar terms) the Cardinals offered Garagiola before Rickey could sign Berra to the Dodgers. Berra played for theNorfolk Tars in 1943.[16][17]
Berra joined theUnited States Navy in 1943, and served as agunner's mate on the attack transportUSS Bayfield during theNormandy landings.[18] A seaman second class, Berra was one of a six-man crew on a Navy rocket boat, firing machine guns and launching rockets at the German defenses onOmaha Beach. He was wounded and awarded aPurple Heart medal.[19] During an interview on the 65th Anniversary of D-Day, Berra confirmed that he was sent toUtah Beach during the D-Day invasion as well.[20][21] His military records were burned in theSt. Louis Archives fire in 1973.
FollowingOperation Dragoon, he was sent to Tunisia before returning to the United States in January 1945 and being stationed atNaval Submarine Base New London. While there, he played for the base's semi-pro baseball team. He also bribed guards to allow him to sneak off base and play for theCranston, Rhode Island, Chiefs for $50 a game under an assumed name, as he was already signed with the Yankees.[22][23] He was honorably discharged in May 1946.[24]
Following his military service, Berra played minor-league baseball with theNewark Bears, surprising the team's manager with his talent despite his short stature.[25] He was mentored by Hall of FamerBill Dickey, whoseuniform number Berra took. He later said, "I owe everything I did in baseball to Bill Dickey."[26]
Berra was called up to the Yankees and played his first game on September 22, 1946; he played 7 games that season and 83 games in 1947. He played in more than a hundred games in each of the following 14 years. Berra appeared in 14World Series, including 10 World Series championships, both of which are records. In part because Berra's playing career coincided with the Yankees' most consistent period of World Series participation, he established Series records for the most games (75),at bats (259),hits (71),doubles (10),singles (49), games caught (63), and catcherputouts (457). In Game 3 of the1947 World Series, Berra hit the first pinch-hit home run in World Series history,[27] off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcherRalph Branca (who later gave upBobby Thomson's famousShot Heard 'Round the World in 1951).[28][29]
Berra was anAll-Star for 15 seasons,[3] and was selected to 18 All-Star Games (MLB held two All-Star Games in 1959 through 1962[30]).[31] He won the American League (AL)MVP award in 1951, 1954, and 1955; Berra never finished lower than fourth in the MVP voting from 1950 to 1957.[27] He received MVP votes in 15 consecutive seasons, tied withBarry Bonds and second only toHank Aaron's 19 straight seasons with MVP support.[32] From 1949 to 1955, on a team filled with stars such asMickey Mantle andJoe DiMaggio, it was Berra who led the Yankees inRBI for seven consecutive seasons.[33] Probably the most notable game of Berra's playing career came when he caughtDon Larsen'sperfect game in the1956 World Series, the first of only threeno-hitters, and lone "perfecto"[34] ever thrown inMLB postseason play.[35][36] The picture of Berra leaping into Larsen's arms following Dale Mitchell's called third strike to end the game is one of the sport's most memorable images.[37]
Berra was excellent at hitting pitches outside of the strike zone, covering all areas of thestrike zone (as well as beyond) with great extension. In addition to this wide plate coverage, he also had great bat control. He was able both to swing thebat like agolf club to hit low pitches for deep home runs and to chop at high pitches forline drives. Whether changing speeds or location, pitcherEarly Wynn soon discovered that "Berra moves right with you."[38] Five times, Berra had morehome runs thanstrikeouts in a season, striking out just twelve times in 597 at-bats in 1950. The combination of bat control and plate coverage made Berra a feared "clutch hitter", proclaimed by rival managerPaul Richards "the toughest man in the league in the last three innings". Contrasting him with teammateMickey Mantle, Wynn declared Berra "the real toughest clutch hitter", grouping him with Cleveland sluggerAl Rosen as "the two best clutch hitters in the game".[38]
As a catcher, Berra was outstanding: quick, mobile, and a great handler of pitchers, Berra led all American League catchers eight times in games caught and inchances accepted, six times indouble plays (a major-league record), eight times in putouts, three times inassists, and once infielding percentage. Berra left the game with the AL records for catcher putouts (8,723) and chances accepted (9,520). He was also one of only four catchers ever to field 1.000 in a season, playing 88 errorless games in 1958. He was the first catcher to leave one finger outside his glove, a style that most other catchers eventually emulated.[39]Tom Sturdivant, who pitched for the Yankees from 1955 to 1959, said "I can't say enough for Yogi Berra. It gives a young pitcher a lot of confidence to have a fellow like Berra calling the pitches. No one could set up the hitters better."[40]
At age 37 in June 1962, Berra showed his superb physical endurance by catching an entire 22-inning, seven-hour game against theDetroit Tigers.[41]Casey Stengel, Berra's manager during most of his playing career with the Yankees and with the Mets in 1965, once said, "I never play a game without my man."[4] Later in his career, Berra became a good defensive outfielder inYankee Stadium's notoriously difficult left field.[42]
After spending1963 as a player-coach—he appeared in 64 games (35 as a catcher and 29 as a pinch hitter, batting .293 in 164 at bats), and held down the Yankee's first-base coaching job otherwise—Berra retired as an active player after the1963 World Series and was immediately named to succeedRalph Houk as manager of the Yankees.
The so-calledHarmonica Incident occurred aboard the team bus in August 1964. Following a loss, infielderPhil Linz was playing his harmonica, and Berra ordered him to stop. Seated on the other end of the bus, Linz could not hear what Berra had said, andMickey Mantle impishly informed Linz, "He said to play it louder." When Linz did so, an angry Berra slapped the harmonica out of his hands.[43]
All was apparently forgotten when the Yankees rode a September surge to return to the World Series, but the team lost to theSt. Louis Cardinals in seven games, after which Berra was fired. Houk, who was general manager at the time, later said the decision to fire Berra was made in late August and that the incident with Linz had nothing to do with it. Although he did not elaborate, Houk said that he and the rest of the Yankee brain trust did not feel Berra was ready to manage.[44] Players, however, said the incident actually solidified his managerial authority and helped him lead them to the Series.[45]
Berra was immediately signed by the crosstownNew York Mets as a coach. He also put in four cameo appearances as a catcher early in the season. His last at-bat came on May 9, 1965, three days shy of his 40th birthday. Berra stayed with the Mets as a coach under Stengel,Wes Westrum,Salty Parker, andGil Hodges for the next seven seasons, including their 1969 World Series championship season. He then became the team's manager in 1972, following Hodges' unexpected death in spring training.[46]
The following season looked like a disappointment at first. Injuries plagued the Mets throughout the season. Midway through the 1973 season, the Mets were stuck in last place but in a very tight divisional race. In July, when a reporter asked Yogi if the season was over, he replied, "It ain't over 'til it's over."[47]
As the Mets' key players came back to the lineup, a late surge allowed them to win the NL East despite an 82–79 record, making it the only time from 1970 through 1980 that the NL East was not won by either theirrivalPhiladelphia Phillies or thePittsburgh Pirates.[48][49] When the Mets faced the 99-win Cincinnati Reds in the1973 National League Championship Series, a memorable fight erupted betweenBud Harrelson andPete Rose in the top of the fifth inning of game three. After the incident and the ensuing bench-clearing brawl had subsided, fans began throwing objects at Rose when he returned to his position in left field in the bottom half of the inning.Sparky Anderson pulled Rose and his Reds off the field until order was restored. When National League presidentChub Feeney threatened the Mets with a forfeit, Berra walked out to left field withWillie Mays,Tom Seaver,Rusty Staub, andCleon Jones in order to plead with the fans to desist.[50] Yogi's Mets went on to defeat the highly favored "Big Red Machine" in five games to capture the NL pennant. It was Berra's second as a manager, one in each league. The Mets fell to theOakland Athletics in the1973 World Series, but they went the distance in a close, seven-game, series.[51]
Berra's tenure as Mets manager ended with his firing on August 5, 1975. He had a record of 298 wins and 302 losses, which included the 1973 postseason. In 1976, he rejoined the Yankees as a coach. The team won its first of three consecutive AL titles, as well as the1977 World Series and1978 World Series, and (as had been the case throughout his playing days) Berra's reputation as a lucky charm was reinforced.Casey Stengel once said of his catcher, "He'd fall in a sewer and come up with a gold watch."[52] Berra was named Yankees manager before the 1984 season. Berra agreed to stay in the job for 1985 after receiving assurances that he would not be terminated, but impatientGeorge Steinbrenner reneged, firing Berra anyway after the 16th game of the season. Moreover, instead of firing him personally, Steinbrenner dispatchedClyde King to deliver the news for him.[53] The incident caused a rift between Berra and Steinbrenner that was not mended for almost 15 years.[54]
Berra joined theHouston Astros as bench coach in 1985,[55] where he again made it to theNLCS in 1986. The Astros lost the series in six games to the Mets.[56] Berra remained a coach in Houston for three more years, retiring after the 1989 season.[57] He finished his managerial career with a regular-season record of 484–444 and a playoff record of 9–10.[58]
After George Steinbrenner ventured to Berra's home in New Jersey to apologize in person for having mishandled Berra's firing as Yankee manager, Berra ended his 14-year estrangement from the Yankee organization in 1999 and worked in spring-training camp with catcherJorge Posada.[59]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Games | Won | Lost | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| NYY | 1964 | 162 | 99 | 63 | .611 | 1st in AL | 3 | 4 | .429 | LostWorld Series (STL) |
| NYM | 1972 | 156 | 83 | 73 | .532 | 3rd in NL East | – | – | – | – |
| NYM | 1973 | 161 | 82 | 79 | .509 | 1st in NL East | 6 | 6 | .500 | LostWorld Series (OAK) |
| NYM | 1974 | 162 | 71 | 91 | .438 | 5th in NL East | – | – | – | – |
| NYM | 1975 | 109 | 56 | 53 | .514 | fired | – | – | – | – |
| NYM total | 588 | 292 | 296 | .497 | 6 | 6 | .500 | |||
| NYY | 1984 | 162 | 87 | 75 | .537 | 3rd in AL East | – | – | – | – |
| NYY | 1985 | 16 | 6 | 10 | .375 | fired | – | – | – | – |
| NYY total | 340 | 192 | 148 | .565 | 3 | 4 | .429 | |||
| Total[58] | 928 | 484 | 444 | .522 | 9 | 10 | .474 | |||
| G | AB | R | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | TB | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS | FLD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2120 | 7555 | 1175 | 2150 | 321 | 49 | 358 | 1430 | 3643 | 704 | 414 | .285 | .348 | .482 | .830 | .988 |
In 75 World Series games, Berra batted .274 (71-for-259) with 41 runs, 10 doubles, 12 home runs, 39 RBI, and 32 walks. He has accumulated the most hits (71) andplate appearances (295) of any MLB player in World Series history.[60]
Source:Baseball Reference
During World War II, Berra served in the Navy as machine gunner participating in the D-Day invasion and earned aPurple Heart,Distinguished Unit Citation, twobattle stars anAmerican Campaign Medal,[61] and aEuropean–African–Middle Eastern Campaign Medal.[62] In 2009, he received theLone Sailor Award and,[63] in 2010, he was honored with the Audie Murphy Award for his Navy service.[64]
Berra was elected to theBaseball Hall of Fame in1972, on his second ballot.[65] That same year, his No. 8 was retired in 1972 by the Yankees, jointly honoring both Berra andBill Dickey, his predecessor as the Yankees' star catcher.[66]
On August 22, 1988, Berra and Dickey were honored with plaques to be hung inMonument Park at Yankee Stadium. Berra's plaque calls him "A legendary Yankee" and cites his most frequent quote, "It ain't over till it's over". However, the honor was not enough to shake Berra's conviction that Steinbrenner had broken their personal agreement; Berra did not set foot in the stadium for another decade, until Steinbrenner publicly apologized to Berra.[67]
In 1996, Berra received an honorary doctorate fromMontclair State University, which also named its own campus stadiumYogi Berra Stadium, opened in 1998, in his honor.[68] The stadium is also used by theNew Jersey Jackals, an independent minor league baseball team that has also paid homage to Berra by never issuing his jersey number, 8, to anyone.[69]
In 1998, Berra appeared at No. 40 onThe Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players,[70] and fan balloting elected him to theMajor League Baseball All-Century Team.[71] In 2020,The Athletic ranked Berra at number 43 on its "Baseball 100" list, compiled by sportswriterJoe Posnanski.[72]
On July 18, 1999, Berra was honored with "Yogi Berra Day" atYankee Stadium.Don Larsen threw theceremonial first pitch to Berra to honor theperfect game of the 1956 World Series. The celebration marked the return of Berra to the stadium. On that day, Yankees pitcherDavid Cone threwa perfect game against theMontreal Expos,[73] only the 16th time it had ever been done inMajor League history.[74]
In 2005, Berra received the Golden Plate Award of theAmerican Academy of Achievement.[75] In 2008, Berra was inducted into theNew Jersey Hall of Fame.[76]
Berra was the inaugural recipient of theBob Feller Act of Valor Award in 2013.[77]
In 1998, theYogi Berra Museum and Learning Center[78] andYogi Berra Stadium (home of the Montclair State University baseball team and formerly home to theNew Jersey Jackals) opened on the campus ofMontclair State University inUpper Montclair, New Jersey. The museum is the home of various artifacts, including the mitt with which Yogi caught the onlyperfect game in World Series history, several autographed and "game-used" items, and nine of Yogi's championship rings.[68]
Berra was involved with the project and frequently visited the museum for signings, discussions, and other events. It was his intention to teach children values such as sportsmanship and dedication on and off the baseball diamond.[79]
On October 8, 2014, a break-in and theft occurred at the museum, and several of Berra's World Series rings and other memorabilia were stolen.[80]
On November 24, 2015, Berra was awarded thePresidential Medal of Freedom posthumously byPresident Barack Obama in a ceremony at theWhite House attended by members of Berra's family, who accepted the award on his behalf.[81][82] At the ceremony, the President said: "Today we celebrate some extraordinary people. Innovators, artists and leaders who contribute to America's strength as a nation." Celebrating Berra's military service and remarkable baseball career, Obama used one of Berra's famous "Yogi-isms", saying, "One thing we know for sure: If you can't imitate him, don't copy him."[82]
On July 1, 2021, theUnited States Postal Service officially issued its Yogi Berra commemorative stamp outside of Berra's museum. Berra is only the 30th baseball player to have his picture on a stamp, and he is the first player to appear on a USPS stamp in nine years. Berra is also the first player sinceLou Gehrig in 1989 to receive an issuance all his own, where a great majority of those stamps have been part of multiplayer issuances.[83]
Berra and former teammatePhil Rizzuto were partners in abowling alley venture inClifton, New Jersey, originally called Rizzuto-Berra Lanes. The two eventually sold their stakes to new owners, who changed the name to Astro Bowl before selling the property to a developer who closed the bowling alley in 1999 and converted it into retail space.[84][85] Yogi Berra's Fitness & Racquetball Club inFairfield, New Jersey, was popular in the 1980s.[86]
Berra was also involved in causes related to his Italian American heritage. He was a longtime supporter of theNational Italian American Foundation (NIAF) and helped fund raise for the Foundation.[87] He was inducted into the Italian American Hall of Fame in 2004.[88]
Berra was a recipient of theBoy Scouts of America's highest adult award, theSilver Buffalo Award.[89]
Based on his style of speaking, Yogi was named "Wisest Fool of the Past 50 Years" byThe Economist magazine in January 2005.[90]
In the 2007 television miniseriesThe Bronx Is Burning, Berra was portrayed by actorJoe Grifasi. In the HBO sports docudrama61*, Berra was portrayed by actor Paul Borghese, and Hank Steinberg's script included more than one of Berra's famous "Yogi-isms". In 2009, Berra appeared in the documentary filmA Time for Champions, recounting his childhood memories of soccer in his nativeSt. Louis.[91] The 2022 documentaryIt Ain't Over focuses on Berra's life and career.[92]
Yogi and his wife Carmen were played by real-life newly married actorsPeter Scolari and Tracey Shayne in the 2013Broadway playBronx Bombers.[93]
Yogi joinedAthlete Ally as a champion for inclusion in sports and as an Athlete Ally Pro Ambassador in 2013. The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center also collaborated with Athlete Ally on the innovative "Championing Respect" museum exhibit, which charted how sports has contributed to social change.[94]
Berra married Carmen Short on January 26, 1949. They had three sons and were longtime residents ofMontclair, New Jersey, until Carmen's declining health caused them to move into a nearbyassisted living facility inWest Caldwell. Each of their sons played professional sports:Dale Berra playedshortstop for thePittsburgh Pirates, the New York Yankees (managed by Yogi in 1984–85), and theHouston Astros;Tim Berra played for theBaltimore Colts in the1974 NFL season; and Larry Berra played for three minor league teams in theNew York Mets organization. Carmen Berra died on March 6, 2014, of complications from a stroke, at age 85; the couple had recently celebrated their 65th anniversary.[95] Following Carmen's death, the house in Montclair was listed for sale at $888,000, a reference to Yogi's uniform number.[96]
Berra died in his sleep at age 90 of natural causes inWest Caldwell, New Jersey, on September 22, 2015.[97][98]
The Yankees added a number "8" patch to their uniforms in honor of Berra,[99] and theEmpire State Building was lit with vertical blue and white Yankee "pinstripes" on September 23.[100] New York City lowered all flags in the city to half-staff for a day in tribute.[101] A moment of silence was held before the September 23 games of the Yankees, Dodgers,Astros,Mets,Nationals,Tigers,Pirates, and his hometownSt. Louis Cardinals, as well as theALPB'sLong Island Ducks.[100] TheYogi Berra Museum held a tribute on October 4.[102]
Berra's funeral services were held on September 29, and were broadcast by theYES Network. His ashes were interred next to his wife, Carmen, at theGate of Heaven Cemetery inEast Hanover, New Jersey. Berra's longtime friend,Joe Garagiola, who lived directly across the street from Berra when they were young, died six months later on March 23, 2016. Berra's Yankee teammateDon Larsen, who pitched the onlyperfect game in World Series history and was the only surviving member of the 1956 game at the time of Berra's death, died on January 1, 2020.
Berra was known for his impromptu pithy comments,malapropisms, and seemingly unintentional witticisms, known as "Yogi-isms". These often took the form of either an apparenttautology or a contradiction, but often with underlying humor and wisdom.Allen Barra has described them as "distilled bits of wisdom which, like good country songs and oldJohn Wayne movies, get to the truth in a hurry."[103]
Berra is often incorrectly credited with the saying "It ain't over till the fat lady sings," which was first attributed toTexas Tech University sports information director Ralph Carpenter in 1976. When asked about the quotation in 1998, Berra told aNew York Times reporter, "That's one of the things that I said that I never said."[109]
In the 1950s, Berra hired Frank Scott as his agent for off-the-field appearances and endorsements. Scott was the first sports agent to focus on an athlete's off-the-field earnings.[111] Berra appeared in advertisements for products and companies includingYoo-Hoo,Visa,Pringles,Stove Top stuffing,Aflac,Camel cigarettes,Ballantine Beer,Kraft Italian salad dressing,Prest-O-Lite batteries,Wheaties,Shelby bicycles, Diamond Chemicals, Spencer Chemicals,AMF Bowling,Miller Lite,Kinney Shoes,Pepsi,Jockey underwear, wristwatches, orange juice, foot spray, and cat food.[112][113][114][115]
The cartoon characterYogi Bear first appeared in 1958. The name was similar enough to Berra's name that he considered suingHanna-Barbera, but Hanna-Barbera claimed that the similarity was just a coincidence.[116] Berra's obituary by theAssociated Press initially said that Yogi Bear had died.[117]
From 1974 to 1980, thePhillies andPirates won all seven National League East titles (Phillies four, Pirates three).
The Pirates...won three (NL East titles) in a row from 1970 to 1972.
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