Yogi Berra will remain a national treasure

Yogi Berra was, is, and will remain a national treasure.

He won 10 World Series titles as a player. He was named American League Most Valuable Player three times. And in retirement, his legend only grew. Such is the nature of Lawrence Peter Berra’s singular place in baseball and American folklore.

Though his playing career with the New York Yankees earned him induction to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972, Berra’s earnestness and indelible “Yogi-isms” are the reasons a 5-foot-7 catcher became such an outsized symbol of Americana. From “It ain’t over ‘til it’s over” to “It’s déjà vu all over again,” Berra’s witticisms will live as long as the English language is spoken.

Born May 12, 1925, Berra grew up on “The Hill” – the proud Italian-American neighborhood in St. Louis – after his parents emigrated from Italy. He received his famous nickname from a childhood friend, who said he resembled a Hindu yogi. After the hometown Cardinals chose to sign Berra’s childhood friend Joe Garagiola over him, Berra agreed to a contract with the Yankees in 1943 – for a signing bonus of $500.

Berra, though, waited until 1946 to make his Yankees debut because he was in the U.S. Navy during the ’44 and ’45 seasons. As a Seaman Second Class, Berra served in the D-Day invasion on a small rocket boat at Utah Beach, according to a 2009 interview with the YES Network.

In 1948, Berra’s first season as a full-time player, he began a remarkable run of All-Star appearances in 15 consecutive seasons. When Berra’s streak began, Joe DiMaggio was the Yankees’ center fielder. By the time it ended, the position belonged to Mickey Mantle.

Berra was powerful despite his relatively small stature, driving in 100 runs five times and hitting 30 home runs twice. His durability was perhaps even more impressive; he made at least 140 starts behind the plate in four different seasons. Berra played in 14 World Series over a 17-year span, a triumph of longevity and excellence that no one in subsequent generations has matched. He caught Don Larsen’s perfect game in the 1956 World Series – still the only perfect game in postseason history.

Berra’s managerial career is remembered mostly for his unceremonious firings, but he finished with a winning record in nearly 1,000 combined games with the Yankees and Mets. His ’64 Yankees and ’73 Mets each lost Game 7 of the World Series. But his 1985 firing as manager of the Yankees probably stung even more; its harshness led to a 14-year rift in his relationship with the organization, ending only after owner George Steinbrenner apologized to Berra personally.

The estrangement over, Berra fully reprised his role as an enduring and endearing face of the franchise – and the sport itself – in his later years. From unsurpassed achievement to unforgettable words, Yogi Berra will remain the very definition of a baseball immortal.