May 12, 1925

Yogi Berra is born on The Hill in St. Louis. Lawrence Berra was one of the most colorful and talented characters ever to play baseball. He grew up in the Italian neighborhood of St. Louis alongside childhood friend Joe Garagiola. He took on the nickname “Yogi” because his friends thought he resembled a Hindu holy man they had seen in a movie.

Editor’s note: Many of us are familiar with the many Yogi-isms attributed to the late Hall of Fame catcher. For instance, “Baseball is 90 percent mental, the other half is physical.” Yogi questioned the accuracy of some of the quotes, but even his objection became one of his famous quotes: “I never said half the things I said.”

Based upon content from the book Missouri 365: This Day in Missouri History by John W. Brown, broadcaster and Missouri historian. Get your copy at Reedy Press.

“Yogi Berra” by Baseball Collection is marked with CC BY 2.0.