New York Yankees legend Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra passed away Tuesday, September 22nd, 2015 at 90 years of age, announced the Yogi Berra Museum.
Berra, who was widely known for his down-to-earth personality and great connection with his fans, had a successful career as one of the greatest players in baseball’s history. With 10 World Series titles, 3 MVP awards and 15 times in All-Star teams, the 5’8” son of Italian immigrants from St. Louis, Mo., was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.
A high school dropout, Yogi Berra got his nickname after a childhood friend told him he looked like a Hindu yogi in a movie they saw. Little did he know he was going to be so famous later in life that even a cartoon character was going to be named after him: Yogi Bear.
After playing with the Yankees for 18 seasons, Berra worked as a coach and manager for the New York Mets, and for the Yankees. He was also coach for the Houston Astros.
Acclaimed to be “the greatest catcher of all time”, the World War II veteran was widely known by peculiar expressions that became of common use, such as “It ain’t over till it’s over, “It’s déjà vu all over again”, and “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
Berra and his wife for 64 years had 3 children, two of which also played professional baseball. He created the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center at Montclair State University, and was a longtime supporter of the National Italian American Foundation.
The whole Yankees team honored Yogi Berra by wearing the No. 8 on their sleeves in Wednesday’s night game against the Blue Jays.
Image Credit: #YogiBerra
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