“YOU'VE GOT TO BE VERY CAREFUL IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING, BECAUSE YOU MIGHT NOT GET THERE”:
Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra
Who would you say is the most famous Yogi in US history? Name anyone you like, but I’ll bet no one could top Lawrence Peter Berra (b. 1925), better known as Yogi. Yes, I know, Berra isn’t a real Yogi. His claim to fame is his career as the New York Yankees’ catcher and, later in his career, sometime outfielder from 1946 to 1963, and his three American League Most Valuable Player Awards. But still ... say the word “Yogi” and most Americans, especially baseball fans, will respond “Berra.”
The story about how he got this nickname is somewhat foggy, as you might expect with an incident that took place more than 60 years ago. It’s generally agreed that Larry (whose own family called him “Lawdie”) was christened Yogi as a teenager by friend and/or American Legion teammate Bobby Hofman (later a light-hitting infielder for the New York Giants). Hofman saw a movie (or movie clip) about an Indian holy man (Yogi) and/or snake charmer who resembled/walked like/sat like Larry (who liked to sit on the ground while waiting to bat with crossed arms and legs in a Yoga-like position). The nickname did/didn’t catch on at first (Berra was in some accounts known as “Larry” during his early years with the Yankees, the “Yogi” tag only becoming popular later on as his playing career blossomed).
Legend has it that another famous American Yogi, Yogi Bear, was named after Berra, though he talked and acted more like The Honeymooners’ Art Carney/Ed Norton (Jackie Gleason/Ralph Kramden was the model for another popular cartoon character, Fred Flintstone). Berra reportedly
didn’t much care for the honor, even though the ursine Yogi was, by his own admission, “smarter than the average bear.”
Yogi Bear in turn gave his name to the Yogi Rock. Never heard of it? I’m not surprised, since it’s on Mars. In 1997, the Mars Pathfinder rover, Sojourner, bumped into it and took its picture. An imaginative scientist thought it looked like the head of a bear, and dubbed it accordingly. That’s not all: by an odd coincidence, an analysis of the Yogi Rock shows its composition is similar to rocks found near the Yogi Berra Stadium on the campus of Montclair State University in New Jersey. And don’t worry, the Yogi Rock isn’t up there on Mars hunting for “pick-a-nick baskets” all by itself: the rover also found and photographed a BooBoo Rock.
Who would you say is the most famous Yogi in US history? Name anyone you like, but I’ll bet no one could top Lawrence Peter Berra (b. 1925), better known as Yogi. Yes, I know, Berra isn’t a real Yogi. His claim to fame is his career as the New York Yankees’ catcher and, later in his career, sometime outfielder from 1946 to 1963, and his three American League Most Valuable Player Awards. But still ... say the word “Yogi” and most Americans, especially baseball fans, will respond “Berra.”
The story about how he got this nickname is somewhat foggy, as you might expect with an incident that took place more than 60 years ago. It’s generally agreed that Larry (whose own family called him “Lawdie”) was christened Yogi as a teenager by friend and/or American Legion teammate Bobby Hofman (later a light-hitting infielder for the New York Giants). Hofman saw a movie (or movie clip) about an Indian holy man (Yogi) and/or snake charmer who resembled/walked like/sat like Larry (who liked to sit on the ground while waiting to bat with crossed arms and legs in a Yoga-like position). The nickname did/didn’t catch on at first (Berra was in some accounts known as “Larry” during his early years with the Yankees, the “Yogi” tag only becoming popular later on as his playing career blossomed).
Legend has it that another famous American Yogi, Yogi Bear, was named after Berra, though he talked and acted more like The Honeymooners’ Art Carney/Ed Norton (Jackie Gleason/Ralph Kramden was the model for another popular cartoon character, Fred Flintstone). Berra reportedly
didn’t much care for the honor, even though the ursine Yogi was, by his own admission, “smarter than the average bear.”
Yogi Bear in turn gave his name to the Yogi Rock. Never heard of it? I’m not surprised, since it’s on Mars. In 1997, the Mars Pathfinder rover, Sojourner, bumped into it and took its picture. An imaginative scientist thought it looked like the head of a bear, and dubbed it accordingly. That’s not all: by an odd coincidence, an analysis of the Yogi Rock shows its composition is similar to rocks found near the Yogi Berra Stadium on the campus of Montclair State University in New Jersey. And don’t worry, the Yogi Rock isn’t up there on Mars hunting for “pick-a-nick baskets” all by itself: the rover also found and photographed a BooBoo Rock.
