Yogi Berra, a New York Yankees legend and one of the most beloved American sports stars in history, died Tuesday.
Yogi was an All-Star catcher for the Yankees from 1946 to 1963, and also played one year with the Mets before retiring as a player in 1965. He played in the Bronx alongside the likes of Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle … earning a record TEN World Series rings.
Berra died of natural causes Tuesday at his home in New Jersey, according to Dave Kaplan, the director of the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center.
“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.”
He was just as famous for his quirky sayings, known as “Yogi-isms,” as he was his Hall of Fame baseball career. Some of the best include:
– “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”
– “It gets late early out there.”
– “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
– “It’s like deja vu all over again.”
Berra published three books: his autobiography in 1961, “It Ain’t Over …” in 1989 and “The Yogi Book: I Really Didn’t Say Everything I Said” in 1998. The last made The New York Times’ best-seller list.
