Yogi Berra was born in St. Louis, Missouri on May 12, 1925 and grew up attending the local schools there. He received his nickname from his friend who said he resembled a Hindu holy man they had seen in a movie.
      He signed with the New York Yankees in 1943 to play baseball. He started playing in the majors in 1946 and continued with the Yankees as catcher for 18 years. During this time he played in 14 World Series games setting records for 71 hits, 75 games, and 259 at bats. He retired from playing in the 1965 season and went on to manage the Yankees in 1964 leading the Yankees to the league title. In 1972, the year Berra was elected into the baseball Hall of Fame, he was hired to manage the New York Mets.
      After managing the Mets for four years, grabbing another pennant in the process, he went back to the Yankees as a coach in 1975. In 1985, he was fired by the Yankees. He joined the Houston Astros as a coach in 1986 and retired in 1989.
      Berra has always been known as one of the greatest catchers in baseball history, but he is also known for his sayings. They call them Berraisms or Yogiisms. He used to use these sayings when he was distracting batters, to humor umpires and also to inspire his players. When Hanna-Barbera's cartoon character came out, it was named after Yogi. But Yogi did not appreciate being called Yogi Bear.