Posted on 09/23/2015 8:34:26 AM PDT by Brad from Tennessee
Yogi Berra, a Hall of Fame catcher with the dynastic 1950s New York Yankees, known equally well among sports fans and non-fans for his absurdly profound “Yogi-isms” and his TV commercials, has died. He was 90.
Berra died of natural causes Tuesday at his home in New Jersey, according to Dave Kaplan, the director of the Yogi Berra Museum.
“While we mourn the loss of our father, grandfather and great-grandfather, we know he is at peace with Mom,” Berra's family said in a statement released by the museum. “We celebrate his remarkable life, and are thankful he meant so much to so many. He will truly be missed.”
Had Berra been nothing more than a very good ballplayer — and he was a star among stars on those Yankees teams, counting among his teammates Mickey Mantle, Phil Rizzuto, Billy Martin, Whitey Ford and Don Larsen — his fame would have been assured. But with his public utterances, spoken in all sincerity, Berra became the kind of delightful character Americans love to love.
The things he said — and those attributed to him — are widely quoted today by presidents, professors and public speakers of all stripes, among millions of others.
His most famous Yogi-ism, “It ain't over till it's over,” has become a part of the American idiom, but he also advised:
-- ”Never answer an anonymous letter.” -- ”You can observe a lot by watching.” -- ”We made too many wrong mistakes.” -- ”It's déjà vu all over again.” -- “The future ain't what it used to be.”
And more besides.
It was long believed that some New York sportswriters dressed up or made up Yogi-isms to make their stories better and Berra admitted as much when asked about it, replying, “I really didn't say everything I said.”
(Excerpt) Read more at latimes.com ...
Can I join? Can, I, can I?
Would you like your pizza cut in to four pieces or eight? I’m not very hungry, make it four
You bet! I hope it’s more boon than burden! :)
Please add me to your list, thanks!
Oh my, Yogi. He was the genuine article, wasn’t he? In spite of his Yankee uniform:) I was telling my son today there was a time when America was full of men like this. Not with his unique talent of course, but forward looking optimists, with a core of strength and decency. They were in my family, my neighbors families, my friends families. They were regular American guys.
For a time in the 70’s I lived at the end of Boylston St. where I could open the window in the evenings and hear C-c-crack! when someone hit a line drive...hear the fans roar approval or otherwise. Or I could walk over with a couple of friends and, for just a few bucks, drink cold beer and eat hotdogs. Great years...Yaz was king. We had Rico Petrocelli, Luis Tiant, Carlton Fisk. Heartbreak was ever-present of course, because...the Green Monster, or the curse of Babe, or ....
Yogi was amazing. A gift from God, and that is not hyperbole.
You’ve been added to the ping list SE Mom. Thank you. :)
Whitey Ford turns 87 today.
Ford is a ten-time MLB All-Star and six-time World Series champion. Ford won both the Cy Young Award and World Series Most Valuable Player Award in 1961. He led the American League in wins three times and in earned run average twice. The Yankees retired Ford's uniform number in his honor.
In the wake of Yogi Berra's 2015 death, George Vecsey writing in the New York Times, suggested that Ford is now "The Greatest Living Yankee."
When it's Whitey's turn to pitch, Yogi will be the catcher.
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