Photograph courtesy of Yogi Berra
Yogi Berra, a native St. Louisan and one of baseball’s all-time greatest catchers, died Tuesday. He was 90 years old.
Before he grew up to win 13 World Series as a player, coach and manager, Berra was born Lawrence Peter Berra on Elizabeth Street in The Hill neighborhood to parents Pietro and Paulina, both Italian immigrants.
“My dad and mom came from the old country,” Berra told SLM in January 2012 for our “Hometown Stories” series. “My dad came over first...At 4:30 p.m., when that whistle blew, we stopped doing everything and would go and get his can of beer. My dad was very strict with us; we listened to him.”
As a boy, Berra played soccer and baseball all over St. Louis, in Sublette Park, Tower Grove Park and at Creve Coeur Lake. “Wherever a field was open, we played in it,” Berra said.
Berra would later admit that his brothers were better ballplayers than he was, but his father didn’t allow them to go professional, preferring that they find steadier jobs.
“I always teased him. I said, ‘Dad, you could have been a millionaire if you let your sons play ball,’” Berra said. “He said, ‘Blame your mother.’”
Berra’s way with words—described best today by the New York Times this morning as “somehow both nonsensical and sagacious”—made him nearly as famous as his baseball prowess. A few of the saying he’s credited with coining include:
- You can observe a lot just by watching.
- If you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him.
- When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
- Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.
- It’s déjà vu all over again.
Growing up in The Hill, former Cardinals catcher Joe Garagiola lived across the street. The two went to South Side Catholic, now called St. Mary’s High School, and Garagiola was with Berra when he tried out for the St. Louis Cardinals.
“Joe Garagiola and I were invited to try out for the Cardinals at Sportsman’s Park,” Berra said. “I wanted the same [$500 signing bonus] Joe got. I wanted to play with either the Cardinals or the Browns. When the Cardinals didn’t offer me anything, the Browns said, ‘Well, they don’t want to give him anything. We’re not going to give him anything.’ I would have played with anyone. I would have loved to play in St. Louis.”
St. Louis is also where Berra met his wife, Carmen.
“After my first year [with the Yankees], I worked in a Sears and Roebuck’s [in St. Louis,]” Berra said. “I went in for lunch at Stan Musial and Biggie’s restaurant, and I saw Carmen [Berra’s future wife], and I asked Biggie, ‘Who’s she?’ I says, ‘I’m going to ask her for a date.’ She says, ‘I don’t go out with married men.’ She thought I was married.”
Berra would go on to become one of baseball’s true legends, a three-time MVP, an 18-time All-Star and a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
The Yogi Berra Museum's Twitter account announced Berra’s death early Wednesday morning:
"While we mourn the loss of our father, grandfather and great-grandfather, we know he is at peace with Mom," his 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."
Contact Lindsay Toler by an email at LToler@stlmag.com or on Twitter @StLouisLindsay. For more from St. Louis Magazine, subscribe or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
