Lawrence Peter Berra was born May 12, 1925 in St. Louis, Missouri to Italian immigrants. He got his famous nickname "Yogi" from his childhood friend Bobby Hoffman who said that he looked like a Hindu Holy man that they had seen in a movie. The name stuck with him.

Yogi dropped out of school in the 8th grade and was signed to the New York Yankees with a $500 sign on bonus. In 1944, at the age of 18, Yogi joined the Navy. He participated in the D-Day invasion at Omaha Beach. After his stint in the armed forces, Yogi returned to baseball. He made his major league debut in 1946 with the New York Yankees. While playing the position of catcher, it is said that Yogi would talk to the opposing batters to try and distract them. From 1949 to 1955, Yogi led the Yankees with the most RBIs for seven consecutive years. In 1959, New York Stadium held Yogi Berra Day, where he was given gifts from his teammates and friends. Yogi played his last season with the New York Mets in 1965. From 1965 to 1972 he worked as a coach for the New York Mets, finally becoming a manager for the team in 1975. He moved back to the Yankees the next year and became their manager in 1985. He moved onto to the Houston Astros as a coach in 1986 and retired in 1989.

Yogi married his wife Carmen in 1949, and they have three children. Two of his sons have played professional sports. Two of his sons, Dale and Tim, played baseball and football, respectively. In 1972, Yogi was inducted into the baseball hall of fame.