America Lost a National Treasure a year ago and I Lost a Hero and Friend - Yogi Berra

Yogi Berra, Yankee legend and American icon, died at age 90 a year ago on September 22, exactly 69 years to the day he played his first game in the major leagues for the Yankees in 1946.  Over the course of the next 19 years, he would become the best catcher in the history of baseball as he led the Yankees to an astonishing 10 World Series championships in 19 years, and fourteen appearances in the World Series during those years.

In 1949, early in Berra’s Yankee career, his manager assessed him this way in an interview in The Sporting News: “Mr. Berra,” Casey Stengel said, “is a very strange fellow of very remarkable abilities.”

Many people know Yogi more for his off-the-field quotes than his baseball stats but his stats only enhance the legend.  His career spanned the careers of Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford, a host of Hall of Famers, and in spite of the hitting reputations of his famous teammates, Yogi drove in more runs during those years than his marquee teammates.

Yogi and Mickey Mantle

Born to Italian immigrants in St. Louis, Yogi dropped out of school after 8th grade to devote his life to baseball.  He served in the Navy in World War II before making his major league debut in 1946.

Yogi and Don Larsen - only perfect game in World Series history

I was born the year he turned pro and during my formative years the kid from St. Louis, about 90 miles down the road from where I lived in Iowa, was a major league super star at catcher, three times MVP, fifteen straight years on the all stars, played in fourteen World series and won ten World championships.

Yogi contesting Jackie Robinson score in World Series

Since I was catcher while winning state championships in Little League and Babe Ruth, the same position as Yogi, he was the role model and reason I was a lifelong Yankees fan, a rare thing in the Midwest.

When I graduated from high school in 1964 I left immediately to visit the Yale campus.  The sports editor who covered my high school career, Al Hoskins of the Ottumwa Courier, joined us in NYC and arranged to get media passes in NYC resulting in dugout and on-field access at the Yankees and Mets stadiums where I got to meet Yogi and the other stars.

Little did I know that twenty years later I would be working for the governor of New Jersey and got to know Yogi and his old teammate Phil Rizzuto up close and personal.  Yogi loved New Jersey and never hesitated to offer his assistance for anything the governor wanted.  He went so far as to host parties at his home in Montclair, NJ where other Hall of Fame players would tell endless stories of the Yogi legend.

No one ever played the game of baseball harder and his career was full of memorable accomplishments.  Yogi the linguist is a legend in his own right and Yogi the person who cared for everyone, especially kids, will never be forgotten.

Yogi has now joined his fellow Hall of Famers among the spirits in the sky and our world will sorely miss what he gave, and never forget his incredible legacy.

                 

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America Lost a National Treasure Yesterday and I Lost a Hero and Friend - Yogi Berra

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Yogi Berra, Yankee legend and American icon, died at age 90 two years ago on September 22, 2015, exactly 69 years to the day he played his first game in the major leagues for the Yankees in 1946.  Over the course of the next 19 years, he would become the best catcher in the history of baseball as he led the Yankees to an astonishing 10 World Series championships in 19 years, and fourteen appearances in the World Series during those years.

Berra had a career batting average of.285, while hitting 358 home runs and 1,430 runs batted in. He is one of only five players to win the American League Most Valuable Player Award three times. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest catchers in baseball history, and was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.

In 1949, early in Berra’s Yankee career, his manager assessed him this way in an interview in The Sporting News: “Mr. Berra,” Casey Stengel said, “is a very strange fellow of very remarkable abilities.”

Many people know Yogi more for his off-the-field quotes than his baseball stats but his stats only enhance the legend.  His career spanned the careers of Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford, a host of Hall of Famers, and in spite of the hitting reputations of his famous teammates, Yogi drove in more runs during those years than his marquee teammates.

Yogi and Mickey Mantle

Born to Italian immigrants in St. Louis, Yogi dropped out of school after 8th grade to devote his life to baseball.  He served in the Navy in World War II before making his major league debut in 1946.

Yogi and Don Larsen - only perfect game in World Series history

I was born the year he turned pro and during my formative years the kid from St. Louis, about 90 miles down the road from where I lived in Iowa, was a major league super star at catcher, three times MVP, fifteen straight years on the all stars, played in fourteen World series and won ten World championships.

Yogi contesting Jackie Robinson score in World Series

Since I was catcher while winning state championships in Little League and Babe Ruth, the same position as Yogi, he was the role model and reason I was a lifelong Yankees fan, a rare thing in the Midwest.

When I graduated from high school in 1964 I left immediately to visit the Yale campus.  The sports editor who covered my high school career, Al Hoskins of the Ottumwa Courier, joined us in NYC and arranged to get media passes in NYC resulting in dugout and on-field access at the Yankees and Mets stadiums where I got to meet Yogi and the other stars.

Little did I know that twenty years later I would be working for the governor of New Jersey and got to know Yogi and his old teammate Phil Rizzuto up close and personal.  Yogi loved New Jersey and never hesitated to offer his assistance for anything the governor wanted.  He went so far as to host parties at his home in Montclair, NJ where other Hall of Fame players would tell endless stories of the Yogi legend.

No one ever played the game of baseball harder and his career was full of memorable accomplishments.  Yogi the linguist is a legend in his own right and Yogi the person who cared for everyone, especially kids, will never be forgotten.

Yogi has now joined his fellow Hall of Famers among the spirits in the sky and our world will sorely miss what he gave, and never forget his incredible legacy.

                 

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Die Hard Yankees fan Sees Phillies win World Series

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Okay, so the playoffs haven't even started.  And yes the Yankees are in the playoffs for the 100th or so year.  They are the defending champions and they have won so many World Series NYC lost track.

Then this is the year old George Steinbrenner died and the Yankees broke the bank spending on talent.  When talent fails a team like the Yankees tradition can usually carry them.  Coach Girardi is a clever dude and he may have been resting some the the Yanks these last few weeks and they may suddenly come to life.

But I have an instinct about some things.  I had it when I was in the clubhouse of Yankee stadium and then the dugout with the likes of Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford back in the early 1960's.  Even when I attended parties at Yogi's house in Jersey when I worked for the New Jersey governor.  Of course Yogi was a Jersey treasure longbefore he was a national treasure.

But my instinct tells me the Yankees are a little too tired to win the Series this year.  I think the Philadelphia Phillies will win the world championship because the are the hottest and most fearless team in the majors right now.  If they don't Ihope it is the Yankees.

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Another Yankee Legend joins the Century of Legends already Lost - George Steinbrenner

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The New York Yankees lost a legend today with the death of owner George Steinbrenner. As with everything done by the flamboyant King of New York, he went out in grand fashion on the day of the All Star game and just a few days before the Yankees were to meet for the annual old timers game.

The Boss bought the Yankees in 1973 for $10 million when they were in a streak of mediocrity, rare for the most successful sports franchise in the world, and rebuild the Bronx Bombers into the world champions where they belonged.

Under George the Yankees not only remained the most successful sports franchise in the world, with a value this year of over $1.6 billion, but they added 7 more World Series Championships and 11 American League Championships to their glorious legacy, giving them 27 World Series titles and 40 league championships since they were one of the 8 charter teams of Major League Baseball in 1901.



Hard nosed but loyal to his players, as long as the players were giving 100% effort, George made the Yankees the class act of baseball and the most popular and historic team in baseball history. There is simply no other team in any sport like the Yankees.

I was born a Yankee's fan, even though I lived in Iowa. One of the most fascinating trips in my life was going to NYC during the World's Fair in 1964 and having a press pass to the Yankees dugout. I spent most of two weeks hanging out with the players and watching practice from the dugout and during an Old Timers reunion I even got to meet and take pictures of Yankee legends Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra and Casey Stengel.



When I worked for the governor of New Jersey in the 1980's I got to be friends with Jersey natives Yogi Berra and Phil Rizzuto and at one reception even got to meet Steinbrenner. He dominated any room. He set out to rebuild the greatest franchise in baseball and did just that, with his Yankees winning the World Series the last year of his life.

Among the many things few people knew about Steinbrenner was that he paid for the college education of every child of New York City police officers killed in the line of duty and his Yankees Foundation has been involved in many NYC activities.



Yet another Yankee legend was lost just days ago, Bob Sheppard, the famed announcer of the Yankees who was known as the Voice of the Yankees, the Voice of Baseball -- even the Voice of God. Bob spent nearly six decades as the voice of the Yankees in Yankee Stadium.

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