ST. LOUIS — Lawrence Peter Berra was born on May 12, 1925 in St. Louis. But because of his legendary baseball career and iconic outlook on life, you probably know him by a different name. There was only one "Yogi".
Tuesday would've been Yogi Berra's 95th birthday. He passed away in 2015 at the age of 90.
St. Louis has produced a plethora of baseball talent over the years, but none better than Yogi. Let's take a quick look back on his career on the field, and his amateur philosopher status off of it.
Berra grew up in the historically Italian neighborhood of "The Hill" on Elizabeth Avenue. Amazingly, he lived across the street and was childhood friends with Joe Garagiola, who also became a major league catcher, and had a long career as an announcer.
As a baseball player, Berra was above all else, a winner.
In 18 seasons with the New York Yankees, Berra won an astounding 10 World Series titles. That's the most of any individual player in history. He was an 18-time all-star and a 3-time MVP (1951,1954 and 1955). He also caught Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series, the only perfect game in MLB postseason history.
Berra was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972. He's still in the top 10 among all catchers in WAR, games played, hits, runs, home runs and RBI.
He wasn't just a legend on the field, though. Berra had a unique way of expressing himself, often coming up with witty observations about baseball and life, that have stood the test of time.
Some of his most well known "Yogi-isms" include:
- "It ain't over till it's over."
- "It's deja vu all over again."
- "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."
- "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded."
- "If the world were perfect, it wouldn't be."
- "The future ain't what it used to be."
- "Always go to other people's funerals; otherwise, they won't come to yours."
In a baseball-crazy city like St. Louis, Yogi Berra became the best to ever come out of our town. His legacy is still felt today, from "The Hill" to the "Big Apple", where he became a star.
