Berra, "Yogi" (Lawrence P.)
Baseball
b. May 12, 1925, St. Louis, IL
After playing in the minor leagues in 1943, Berra joined the U. S. Navy. He returned to professional baseball in 1946. Called up by the New York Yankees for the last weeks of the season, he hit a home run in his first major league game.
In 1947 and 1948, Berra was a part-time catcher for the Yankees and was also often used in right field because of his hitting and strong arm. When Casey Stengel became the Yankee manager in 1949, he made Berra the starting catcher and hired former Yankee great Bill Dickey as a coach to help polish his defense.
Like Stengel, Berra was known for his malapropisms--he once said of Dickey, "He's learning me his experience"--but he was widely respected by people in the game for his knowledge of baseball. Stengel called him "my assistant manager."
A left-handed hitter with power, Berra liked to swing at bad pitches, but it worked for him. He batted over .300 three times, hit 20 or more home runs nine times, and had 30 or more home runs twice.
A fine clutch hitter, he had the first pinch-hit home run in World Series history, in 1947, and he hit a grand slam home run in the 1956 series. Five times he drove in more than 100 runs.
Berra also became an outstanding defensive catcher. He once went a record 148 consecutive games without an error. His offensive and defensive skills combined to make him a three-time most valuable player, in 1951, 1954, and 1955.
During his 18 seasons with the Yankees, Berra played in a record 14 World Series, setting records for games played, 75; times at bat, 259; and hits, 71.
Immediately after retiring as a player, Berra became manager of the Yankees in 1964. He took them to a pennant that season, but was replaced after they lost the World Series to the St. Louis Cardinals. He joined the New York Mets as a coach in 1965 and became manager in 1972. The following year the Mets won the NL pennant, making Berra only the third manager in history to win pennants in both leagues.
Because of a dispute with the front office, Berra was fired during the 1975 season. He later coached with the Yankees and the Houston Astros. His son, Dale, was a major league infielder for 11 seasons.
In 2,120 games, Berra had a .285 batting average with 321 doubles, 49 triples, and 358 home runs. He drove in 1.430 runs and scored 1,175.