Yogi Berra was a national treasure. As a player, coach or manager, he was on the winning team in 13 World Series, including 10 as a player for the New York Yankees. And his knack for memorable sayings continues to provide enjoyment to every succeeding generation of baseball fan.

If there is one person that those who know nothing about baseball associate with baseball, it’s Babe Ruth. But Yogi Berra isn’t far behind. And he’s a whole lot funnier.

Yogi Berra’s Early Life in St. Louis

Yogi Berra was born Lorenzo Pietro Berra on May 12, 1925, in St. Louis, the son of Italian immigrants. He played American Legion Baseball as a teen. That’s also where he got his famous nickname.

A friend of his, Jack Maguire, had seen a short film on India. He thought Berra looked like an Indian yogi, according to the Baseball Hall of Fame. He started calling his friend Yogi, and the name stuck.

Berra grew up on the same street as best friend Joe Garagiola, who went on to become a baseball star and a famous baseball announcer. As young players, Garagiola was signed by the St. Louis Cardinals, while Berra was signed (for $90 a month and a $500 bonus) by the Yankees in October 1942.

Berra, who quit school after the 8th grade, played minor league ball in 1943, then joined the United States Navy during World War II. He served as a gunner’s mate. He was on a Navy rocket boat during the Normandy invasion.

After his return from the war, he rejoined the Yankees organization and was called up to the majors in September 1946.

Berra’s MLB Career

Berra became the regular catcher for the Yankees starting in the 1947 season. In this, his first full season (he had only 22 at-bats in 1946), he socked a pinch-hit homerun in Game 3 of the World Series between the Yankees and the Los Angeles Dodgers.

In 1949, Casey Stengel was hired to manage the Yankees. He immediately liked Berra and kept him as a catcher. He called Berra “my assistant manager.” He also got Bill Dickey to teach him the details of catching.

Berra flourished. Starting in 1949, he had 10 straight years where he hit at least 20 home runs and drove in 80 runs. He was named to every All-Star team.  Even though the Yankees were loaded with stars, he led the team in RBIs from 1949 to 1955.

He played for the Yankees until 1963. He was named manager of the Yankees for the 1964 season but fired after the Yankees lost the World Series to the Cardinals. He managed the New York Mets from 1972-75 and came back to manage the Yankees in 1984-85.

Although he was known as a clutch hitter, one of the biggest highlights of Berra’s career was catching Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series.

In all, he played 19 seasons with the Yankees. While still playing, he was part of 14 pennant winners and 10 World Series-winning teams, the most of any player in baseball history. He made the All-Star game 15 times. He was named the American League Most Valuable Player three times.

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Yogi Berra’s Famous Sayings

Even with all the accomplishments above, Berra is perhaps best known for his contribution to American culture via what became known as “Yogi-isms.” Sports writers loved to talk to Berra, because he said things that on one level made absolutely no sense, but on the other hand had some truth to them.

Here are some of his best sayings.

  • “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.”
  • “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”
  • “It’s like deja vu all over again.”
  • “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
  • “You wouldn’t have won if we’d beaten you.”
  • “Slump? I ain’t in no slump… I just ain’t hitting.”
  • “If the people don’t want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them.”
  • “Why buy good luggage? You only use it when you travel.”
  • “It was impossible to get a conversation going, everybody was talking too much.”
  • After streakers crossed the field during the game, someone asked Berra if they were men or women, to which he replied: “I don’t know. They had bags over their heads.”
  • “In baseball, you don’t know nothing.”
  • “Little League baseball is a very good thing because it keeps the parents off the streets.”
  •  “If the world were perfect, it wouldn’t be.”

Of course, many of these were probably not even said by Berra. As the man himself said, using a perfect Yogi-ism, “I never said most of the things I said.”

Berra died in 2015, in his sleep and of natural causes.