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Yogi Berra Biography & Facts

Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (born Lorenzo Pietro Berra; May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1946–1963, 1965), all but the last for the New York Yankees. He was an 18-time All-Star and won 10 World Series championships as a player—more than any other player in MLB history. Berra had a career batting average of .285, while hitting 358 home runs and 1,430 runs batted in. He is one of only six players to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award three times. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest catchers in baseball history and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. Berra was born in St. Louis, in an Italian community, and signed with the Yankees in 1943 before serving in the United States Navy as a gunner's mate in the Normandy landings during World War II. He was wounded in his left hand, but declined to fill out the paperwork to receive the Purple Heart because he did not want his mother to get a notification telegram and worry that he had been hurt. Berra never received the medal. 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 a power hitter and strong defensive 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 the New 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 the Houston 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. (The Brooklyn Dodgers won the 1955 World Series and the NY Giants won the 1954 World series; Berra was neither a player, coach or manager of either team.) Overall, he played or coached in 21 World Series, 13 on the winning side. Berra caught Don Larsen's perfect game in game five of the 1956 World Series. He also holds the all-time record for shutouts caught with 173. The Yankees retired 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 in Monument Park in 1988. Berra was named to the MLB All-Century Team in a vote by fans in 1999. For the remainder of his life, he was closely involved with the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center, which he opened on the campus of Montclair State University in 1998. Berra quit school after the eighth grade. He was known for his malapropisms as well as pithy and paradoxical statements, such as "It ain't over 'til it's over", while speaking to reporters. He once simultaneously denied and confirmed his reputation by stating, "I really didn't say everything I said." Early life Berra was born Lorenzo Pietro Berra in a primarily Italian neighborhood of St. Louis called The Hill. His parents were Italian immigrants Pietro and Paolina (née Longoni) Berra. Pietro was originally from Malvaglio near Milan; he arrived at Ellis Island on October 18, 1909, at the age of 23. 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." Berra's parents originally gave him the nickname "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 competitor Joe Garagiola. That block was also home to Jack Buck early in his Cardinals broadcasting career, and it was later renamed "Hall of Fame Place". Berra was a Catholic, and he attended South Side Catholic, now called St. 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 the St. Louis Walk of Fame. He began playing baseball in local American 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 friend Jack Maguire, who, after seeing a newsreel about India, said that he resembled a yogi from India whenever he sat around with arms and legs crossed waiting to bat or while looking sad after a losing game. Professional baseball career Minor leagues In 1942, the St. 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 president Branch Rickey actually had an ulterior motive. Rickey already knew that he was going to leave St. Louis to take over the operation of the Brooklyn 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. However, the Yankees signed Berra for the same $500 bonus ($9,300 in current dollar terms) the Cardinals offered Garagiola before Rickey could sign Berra to the Dodgers. Berra played for the Norfolk Tars in 1943. World War II and subsequent return to baseball Berra joined the United States Navy in 1943, and served as a gunner's mate on the attack transport USS Bayfield during the Normandy landings. A Second Class Seaman, Berra was one of a six-man crew on a Navy rocket boat, firing machine guns and launching rockets at the German defenses on Omaha Beach. He was fired upon and later received several commendations for his bravery. During an interview on the 65th Anniversary of D-Day, Berra confirmed that he was sent to Utah Beach during the D-Day invasion as well. According to the United States Department of Veterans Affairs, he was shot in the left hand during Operation Dragoon, an injury which qualified him for the Purple Heart. However, he never received the medal, because he did not fill out the paperwork. He did not want his mother to get a telegram and worry that he had been hurt. Berra's family tried to obtain the Purple Heart posthumously, but was unable. His military records were burned in the St. Louis Archives fire in 1973, and without his medical records, there was no way to prove he had been wounded. Following Operation Dragoon, he was sent to Tunisia before returning to the United States in January 1945 and being stationed at Nava.... Discover the Yogi Berra popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Yogi Berra books.