49 Facts About Yogi Berra

Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of manager and coach.

Yogi Berra was a native of St Louis 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, where he earned a Purple Heart.

Yogi Berra played 18 seasons with the Yankees before retiring after the 1963 season.

Yogi Berra remained with the Mets for the next decade, serving the last four years as their manager.

Yogi Berra appeared as a player, coach or manager in every one of the 13 World Series that New York baseball teams won from 1947 through 1981.

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Yogi Berra caught Don Larsen's perfect game in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.

Yogi Berra was named to the MLB All-Century Team in a vote by fans in 1999.

Yogi Berra was born Lorenzo Pietro Berra in a primarily Italian neighborhood of St Louis called The Hill.

Yogi Berra'sparents were Italian immigrants Pietro and Paolina Berra.

Yogi Berra was a Catholic, and he attended South Side Catholic, now called St Mary's High School, in south St Louis with Garagiola.

Yogi 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.

Yogi Berra appeared in 14 World Series, including 10 World Series championships, both of which are records.

In part because Yogi Berra's playing career coincided with the Yankees' most consistent period of World Series participation, he established Series records for the most games, at bats, hits, doubles, singles, games caught, and catcher putouts .

In Game 3 of the 1947 World Series, Yogi Berra hit the first pinch-hit home run in World Series history, off Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Ralph Branca .

Yogi Berra was an All-Star for 15 seasons, and was selected to 18 All-Star Games .

From 1949 to 1955, on a team filled with stars such as Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio, it was Yogi Berra who led the Yankees in RBI for seven consecutive seasons.

One of the most notable games of Yogi Berra's playing career came when he caught Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series, the first of only two no-hitters ever thrown in MLB postseason play.

The picture of Yogi 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.

Yogi Berra was excellent at hitting pitches outside of the strike zone, covering all areas of the strike zone with great extension.

The combination of bat control and plate coverage made Yogi Berra a feared "clutch hitter", proclaimed by rival manager Paul Richards "the toughest man in the league in the last three innings".

Yogi Berra left the game with the AL records for catcher putouts and chances accepted .

At age 37 in June 1962, Yogi Berra showed his superb physical endurance by catching an entire 22-inning, seven-hour game against the Detroit Tigers.

Later in his career, Yogi Berra became a good defensive outfielder in Yankee Stadium's notoriously difficult left field.

Yogi Berra was immediately signed by the crosstown New York Mets as a coach.

Yogi Berra stayed with the Mets as a coach under Stengel, Wes Westrum, and Gil Hodges for the next seven seasons, including their 1969 World Series Championship season.

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Yogi Berra's Mets went on to defeat the highly favored Big Red Machine in five games to capture the NL pennant.

Yogi Berra agreed to stay in the job for 1985 after receiving assurances that he would not be terminated, but the impatient Steinbrenner reneged, firing Yogi Berra anyway after the 16th game of the season.

Yogi Berra joined the Houston Astros as bench coach in 1985, where he again made it to the NLCS in 1986.

Yogi Berra remained a coach in Houston for three more years, retiring after the 1989 season.

Yogi Berra's plaque calls him "A legendary Yankee" and cites his most frequent quote, "It ain't over till it's over".

In 1998, Yogi Berra appeared at No 40 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players, and fan balloting elected him to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

At the 2008 All-Star Game at Yankee Stadium, Yogi Berra had the honor of being the last of the 49 Hall of Famers in attendance to be announced.

Yogi Berra then vowed never to return to Yankee Stadium as long as Steinbrenner owned the team.

In 2005, Yogi Berra received the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.

Yogi Berra was the inaugural recipient of the Bob Feller Act of Valor Award in 2013.

The museum is the home of various artifacts, including the mitt with which Yogi Berra caught the only perfect game in World Series history, several autographed and "game-used" items, and nine of Yogi Berra's championship rings.

Yogi Berra was involved with the project and frequently visited the museum for signings, discussions, and other events.

On November 24,2015, Yogi Berra was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom posthumously by President Barack Obama in a ceremony at the White House attended by members of Yogi Berra's family, who accepted the award on his behalf.

Yogi 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.

Yogi Berra is the first player since Lou Gehrig in 1989 to receive an issuance all his own, where a great majority of those stamps have been part of multiplayer “issuances.

Yogi Berra was involved in causes related to his Italian American heritage.

Yogi Berra was a recipient of the Boy Scouts of America's highest adult award, the Silver Buffalo Award.

In 2009, Yogi Berra appeared in the documentary film A Time for Champions, recounting his childhood memories of soccer in his native St Louis.

Berra's sons played professional sports: Dale Berra played shortstop for the Pittsburgh Pirates, New York Yankees, and Houston Astros; Tim Berra played pro football for the Baltimore Colts in the 1974 NFL season; and Larry Berra played for three minor league teams in the New York Mets organization.

Carmen Yogi Berra died on March 6,2014, of complications from a stroke, at age 85; the couple had recently celebrated their 65th anniversary.

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Yogi Berra died in his sleep at the age of 90 of natural causes in West Caldwell, New Jersey, on September 22,2015.

Yogi Berra'sashes were interred next to his wife Carmen at the Gate of Heaven Cemetery in East Hanover, New Jersey.

Yogi Berra was often incorrectly credited with the saying, "It ain't over till the fat lady sings, " which was first attributed to Texas Tech University sports information director Ralph Carpenter in 1976.

Name of the cartoon character Yogi Bear, which first appeared in 1958, was similar enough to Berra's name that he considered suing Hanna-Barbera, but Hanna-Barbera claimed that the similarity of the names was just a coincidence.