His wife once asked Berra where he wanted to be buried, in St. Louis, New York or Montclair.
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“I’m not married”, Berra protested. “It stuck”, Berra told the Saturday Evening Post.
“We’re three years apart, but I look better than him”, Whitey said with a slick smile.
They were married on January 26, 1949.
After being fired as manager of the Mets in 1975, Berra became a coach with the Yankees.
Berra played in more World Series games than any other major leaguer, and was a three-time American League Most Valuable Player.
On his approach to playing baseball: “Baseball is 90 percent mental”.
The New York Yankees tweeted that its organization was “deeply saddened by the loss” of the Yankees legend.
Berra served in the United States Navy during World War II, where he was part of the invasion of France on D-Day. He is second in RBIs (39) and runs scored (41), one behind Mickey Mantle in both categories.
When former Yankees general manager Larry MacPhail first saw Yogi Berra, he said the squat, goofy-looking catcher reminded him of “the bottom man on an unemployed acrobatic team”. When he was feted at a tribute in his home town, he said, “I want to thank everyone for making this night necessary”.
On his team’s diminishing pennant chances: “It ain’t over ’till it’s over”.
At 5 feet, 8 inches tall, Berra didn’t have the imposing presence of most sluggers.
Berra was a free swinger who loved to chase pitches way out of the strike zone. The adjoining Yogi Berra Museum opened in 1998. “He’s just not very ambulatory”.
Berra became known for saying lots of memorable things – although whether he actually said some or they were created by the media has been a matter of conjecture.
Still, the Yogi-isms live on…
“You never think of that when you’re a kid”, Berra said.
While the baseball community mourns the passing of Berra, it’s comforting to remember the line from the great baseball movie The Sandlot, “Legends never die”.
The announcement of Berra’s death was made on Twitter early Wednesday morning.
When a plaque honoring Mr. Berra in was placed in Yankee Stadium’s Monument Park, he did not attend the unveiling.
He returned to the playing field for four games in 1965 with the New York Mets before becoming a coach. He died Tuesday at the age of 90. On that day, Berra was also reunited with Don Larsen, whose flawless game in the 1956 World Series Berra had caught. He was called up to the Yankees late in the season and hit home runs in his first two major league games. What Berra later said bothered him most was not the dismissal, but that Steinbrenner didn’t have the decency to do it himself.
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But Yogi Berra was not a man to hold grudges. “I’m glad it’s over”.
