It doesn't really seem like there are characters in sports anymore. At least not ones likable ones. Guys like Bill Belichick are characters, but in the worst possible way. I wouldn't want Bill Belichick within 100 feet of me.
And I mean, occasionally someone like Clinton Portis does a dog-and-pony-show (in his case, taking on a different persona for each press conference), but that just seemed sort of manufactured (not saying it wasn't an original Clinton Portis manufacture) and, once you finished chuckling at the outfit, there wasn't really anything going on substantial or interesting.
Yogi Berra was a character and I'm grateful he made it to the ripe old age of 90 before passing away Tuesday night. He was, of course, famous for his malaprops; my own favorite personal favorite was "Nobody goes there anymore; it's too crowded." Granted, a lot of these quotes are misattributed and/or apocryphal, something Berra himself addressed: "I really didn't say everything I said." That one's confirmed.
He was from St. Louis, and his family was so fresh-off-the-boat from Italy that two of his four siblings were born there. Joe Garagiola hailed from the same neighborhood and was a friend of Berra's, two peas in a pod if ever there were.
His name was Lawrence, so where did Yogi come from? Wikipedia tells me that "his friend Bobby Hofman who said he resembled a Hindu yogi whenever he sat around with arms and legs crossed waiting to bat or while looking sad after a losing game." Losing. Boy, Yogi sure didn't do much of that. Yogi appeared in 21 World Series as a player, coach, or manager, just a mind-boggling number even for the longevity of 1900s baseball lifers. He won 13 of those. As strictly a player, his Yankee teams were 10-4 in World Series. Both the 10 wins and the 14 appearances in World Series are records. He was AL MVP thrice and perhaps the greatest catcher ever to play the game. In five seasons, he had more home runs than strikeouts. That's not a typo and I did mean home runs, not walks.
He was such a meat-and-potatoes guy that while other athletes take their money post-retirement and open up car dealerships and swanky restaurants, he and Phil Rizzuto opened up a bowling alley.
After his playing and coaching career, he settled in Montclair, New Jersey and became heavily involved with Montclair State University, which hosts the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center as well as Yogi Berra Stadium. Rather than be content to let the museum and learning center just bear his name and be done with it, Berra was a real part of it, mentoring children.
But of course, we all know Yogi first and foremost for those bungled quotes. You've probably heard "you can observe a lot by watching," and "always go to other people's funerals, otherwise they won't go to yours," but of course he's most famous for "it ain't over 'til it's over." He said that when, as manager of the Mets in July 1973, they were in last place, 9.5 games back of the Cubs in the National League East.
He was right. The Mets won the division, and the pennant. Rest in Peace, Yogi. You were quite a character. A likable one.
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