"It gets late early out there" - RIP Yogi
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Hall of Famer Yogi Berra has gone to that Big Stadium in
the Sky. He will be remembered for his 10 World Series
Championship rings and 15 appearances as an All-Star
catcher in the MLB All-Star games. And some will recall
his many "Yogi-isms". Yet most of all he will be honored
as one of the greatest New York Yankees in history.
the Sky. He will be remembered for his 10 World Series
Championship rings and 15 appearances as an All-Star
catcher in the MLB All-Star games. And some will recall
his many "Yogi-isms". Yet most of all he will be honored
as one of the greatest New York Yankees in history.
Please also remember his service in WWII. There wasn't a safe seat in the house on D-Day, and he was there. A great American, and a great baseball player.
A hot summer day and the prez of the Mets and his wife were all gussied up and were meeting Yogi and his wife. Yogi was dressed in slacks and a bright sport coat. The prez's wife said to Yogi, you look pretty cool today. Yogi replied to her, you don't look so hot yourself.
Did Yogi Berra really say all those things he said?
Berra, who died at 90 on Tuesday, was one of professional baseball’s most famous figures, known as much for his memorable quips as for his excellence on the field. But the origin of many of these so-called Yogi-isms is murky — and some he never said at all.
Berra playfully acknowledged the twisted attribution over the decades, characteristically revealing nothing and everything in his responses. (“I might have said ’em, but you never know,” he once said.) In 1998, he published an aptly titled book on the matter, “The Yogi Book: I Really Didn’t Say Everything I Said.”
Here is an effort to untangle the beginnings of his most famous remarks:
“It ain’t over till it’s over.”
By most accounts, Berra said this about the 1973 pennant race. Berra managed the Mets, who were in fifth place at the end of August but rallied to win the National League East.
Berra did say “You’re not out until you’re out,” according to the writer Dave Anderson, who quoted Berra in a New York Times column when Berra was managing the Mets in 1974.
The first time The Times cited the quote that endured was in 1982, when the Connecticut state attorney general candidate, the future senator Joseph I. Lieberman, attributed it to Berra.
Over the years, Berra was also often incorrectly credited as saying, “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings.”
“That’s one of the things that I said that I never said,” Berra told a Times reporter in 1998, when he was marketing his book on Yogi-isms.
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
Berra said this as advice to graduates in a speech at Montclair State commencement in 1996, although in a context that implied he had used it before.
In a 1998 collection of his sayings, he reported that he had originated it when giving the baseball player and announcer Joe Garagiola directions to his house. The blog Quote Investigator found the quip in a newspaper from 1913, but Berra certainly popularized it.
“It’s déjà vu all over again!”
Berra told the Times language columnist William Safire in 1987 that he never said it, but later in life was known to take credit for it.
Quote Investigator found the line, not tied to Berra, in newspapers as far back as the 1960’s.
The first Times reference to the phrase attributed to Berra was in 1985 in an editorial on the scandal over the French sinking of the Rainbow Warrior.
Berra supposedly said this as he reacted to his teammates Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris’s hitting back-to-back home runs. “Makes perfect sense to me,” he said, decades later.
In the same 1987 column by Mr. Safire, Berra declined credit for another widely attributed Yogi-ism: “Always go to other people’s funerals. Otherwise, they won’t go to yours.”
“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
For at least the past 40 years, Berra has been credited with this remark. Articles by The Times in 1972 and 1973 included it. Berra’s wife, Carmen, confirmed to Mr. Safire in 1987 that Yogi had said this about a popular restaurant, but provided no further details.
The same bit, though, predates the citations to Berra, appearing in The New Yorker and elsewhere as far back as the 1940s.
“I can’t think and hit at the same time.”
Early in his Yankee career, Berra said this to a coach, Charlie Dressen, according to a 1988 Times article.
“If you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him.”
Berra was quoted giving this advice to a young player who was trying to emulate the slugger Frank Robinson’s swing.
“Ninety percent of the game is half mental.”
In his book, Berra took credit for this one. This quote is also sometimes rendered as “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”
“I want to thank everybody for making this day necessary.”
Berra was quoted as saying this in 1947, when he was a rookie with the Yankees and was honored at Sportsman’s Park in his hometown, St. Louis.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/24/s...column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
Berra, who died at 90 on Tuesday, was one of professional baseball’s most famous figures, known as much for his memorable quips as for his excellence on the field. But the origin of many of these so-called Yogi-isms is murky — and some he never said at all.
Berra playfully acknowledged the twisted attribution over the decades, characteristically revealing nothing and everything in his responses. (“I might have said ’em, but you never know,” he once said.) In 1998, he published an aptly titled book on the matter, “The Yogi Book: I Really Didn’t Say Everything I Said.”
Here is an effort to untangle the beginnings of his most famous remarks:
“It ain’t over till it’s over.”
By most accounts, Berra said this about the 1973 pennant race. Berra managed the Mets, who were in fifth place at the end of August but rallied to win the National League East.
Berra did say “You’re not out until you’re out,” according to the writer Dave Anderson, who quoted Berra in a New York Times column when Berra was managing the Mets in 1974.
The first time The Times cited the quote that endured was in 1982, when the Connecticut state attorney general candidate, the future senator Joseph I. Lieberman, attributed it to Berra.
Over the years, Berra was also often incorrectly credited as saying, “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings.”
“That’s one of the things that I said that I never said,” Berra told a Times reporter in 1998, when he was marketing his book on Yogi-isms.
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
Berra said this as advice to graduates in a speech at Montclair State commencement in 1996, although in a context that implied he had used it before.
In a 1998 collection of his sayings, he reported that he had originated it when giving the baseball player and announcer Joe Garagiola directions to his house. The blog Quote Investigator found the quip in a newspaper from 1913, but Berra certainly popularized it.
“It’s déjà vu all over again!”
Berra told the Times language columnist William Safire in 1987 that he never said it, but later in life was known to take credit for it.
Quote Investigator found the line, not tied to Berra, in newspapers as far back as the 1960’s.
The first Times reference to the phrase attributed to Berra was in 1985 in an editorial on the scandal over the French sinking of the Rainbow Warrior.
Berra supposedly said this as he reacted to his teammates Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris’s hitting back-to-back home runs. “Makes perfect sense to me,” he said, decades later.
In the same 1987 column by Mr. Safire, Berra declined credit for another widely attributed Yogi-ism: “Always go to other people’s funerals. Otherwise, they won’t go to yours.”
“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
For at least the past 40 years, Berra has been credited with this remark. Articles by The Times in 1972 and 1973 included it. Berra’s wife, Carmen, confirmed to Mr. Safire in 1987 that Yogi had said this about a popular restaurant, but provided no further details.
The same bit, though, predates the citations to Berra, appearing in The New Yorker and elsewhere as far back as the 1940s.
“I can’t think and hit at the same time.”
Early in his Yankee career, Berra said this to a coach, Charlie Dressen, according to a 1988 Times article.
“If you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him.”
Berra was quoted giving this advice to a young player who was trying to emulate the slugger Frank Robinson’s swing.
“Ninety percent of the game is half mental.”
In his book, Berra took credit for this one. This quote is also sometimes rendered as “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”
“I want to thank everybody for making this day necessary.”
Berra was quoted as saying this in 1947, when he was a rookie with the Yankees and was honored at Sportsman’s Park in his hometown, St. Louis.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/24/s...column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news
Reminds me of a Micky Rivers quote from back in the day regarding he, Billy Martin and Yogi- "Me, Yogi and Billy, we're two of kind".
Didn't Yogi once say " a guy trying to pay me for something asked 'do you want cash or check?' to which Yogi replied 'I'll take it in cash, it's just as good as real money'.
His real name was Lawrence, I wonder where Yogi came from? When was the Yogi bear character created?
The guy got to play with the likes of DiMaggio, Mantle, Maris, Ford, etc. and helped served up a sh$t sandwich to Hitler & the boys serving on a Naval vessel at Normandy on D-Day. That is one hell of a life.
Yogi was the ultimate ambassador for the MLB. Yogi was a common guy winner and everybody is attracted to a winner.
10 World Championship rings. Wow! That puts him in Bill Russell's class in the NBA.
George Steinbrenner had to be a dick to be on the outs with Yogi for several years before he wised up.
