Dickson: Honoring Yogi Berra — what he really said

From Paul Dickson at The National Pastime Museum on September 29, 2015:

When Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra died at age 90 on September 22, 2015, he was one of baseball’s most famous figures, known as much for his memorable quips as for his excellence on the field. But the origins of many of these so-called Yogisms (or Berraisms if you prefer) are murky—and some he never said at all. In the aftermath of his passing, many quotes were attributed to him which were not his.

Sorting out the real quotations from the bogus is no easy task. In the March 17, 1986, edition of The Sporting News, Yogi Berra put it bluntly, “I really didn’t say everything I said.” It is at once the glory and dilemma of assembling Berra quotes. The line is both a perfect Berraism and yet a repudiation of Berraisms.

But his ability to get quoted is remarkable. The New Yorker observed, “Hardly anybody would quarrel that Winston Churchill has been replaced by Yogi Berra as the . . . favorite source of quotations,” and The New York Times proclaimed him the most commonly quoted American in graduation speeches.

What follows is a major annotated collection of Berraisms, presented as a memorial to one of the most beloved baseball players ever.

Read the full article here: http://www.thenationalpastimemuseum.com/article/honoring-yogi-berra-what-he-really-said



Originally published: September 29, 2015. Last Updated: September 29, 2015.