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He has won the affection and admiration from peer and public to a degree uncommon in American life. In fact, Yogi Berra may be the most beloved athlete of our time - his kindness, humility and good humor remain the stuff of legend.
 
So is his fabled baseball career, in which he transformed himself from barefoot sandlotter into one of the greatest catchers and clutch hitters in the history of the game. He anchored the New York Yankees' dynasty from the late 1940s to early '60s, becoming a 15-time All-Star, winner of 10 world championships (most in baseball history) and three-time Most Valuable Player (no player has won more) along the way. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1972 and is a member of Major League Baseball's All-Century Team. As a manager with both New York teams, he became the first man in over 40 years to win pennants in different leagues (Yankees in 1964, Mets in 1973).
 
Despite such prodigious feats, he is as equally recognized as an American folk hero - Yogi Berra is quoted more than most poets, his one-of-a-kind observations have made him a major contributor to the national repository of wisdom ("It ain't over 'til it's over" and "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."). No other sports figure has as many entries in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations. Yogi Berra is also renowned for his selflessness, giving generously of his time for countless youth organizations and charitable causes, including his own annual golf tournament in Montclair, NJ which has raised over $1 million for special needs scouts.
 
Lawrence Peter Berra was born on May 12, 1925 in "The Hill" section of St. Louis, an enclave of hard-working Italian immigrants, trying to realize the American dream. Along with his neighbor and boyhood pal Joe Garagiola, he played every sport imaginable. Yet the stumpy Yogi - he got the nickname from a friend who said he resembled a yogi in a Hindu-themed movie - was most passionate about baseball. He left school after eighth grade to help his family, working various menial jobs while playing American Legion ball. Yet in a 1942 tryout with the hometown St. Louis Cardinals, he refused general manager Branch Rickey's offer of $250 to sign. He was insulted he didn't get the same $500 offer given to Garagiola, so he signed with the Yankees a year later. With World War II in full swing, he joined the Navy and volunteered for duty on a rocket boat that capsized off Omaha Beach during the D-Day invasion of Normandy.