Yogi: A Life Behind the Mask

by Jon Pessah

Overview

Discover the definitive biography of Yogi Berra, the New York Yankees icon, winner of 10 World Series championships, and the most-quoted player in baseball history.

Lawrence "Yogi" Berra was never supposed to become a major league ballplayer.

That's what his immigrant father told him. That's what Branch Rickey told him, too—right to Berra's face, in fact. Even the lowly St. Louis Browns of his youth said he'd never make it in the big leagues.

Yet baseball was his lifeblood. It was the only thing he ever cared about. Heck, it was the only thing he ever thought about. Berra couldn't allow a constant stream of ridicule about his appearance, taunts about his speech, and scorn about his perceived lack of intelligence to keep him from becoming one of the best to ever play the game—at a position requiring the very skills he was told he did not have.

Drawing on more than one hundred interviews and four years of reporting, Jon Pessah delivers a transformational portrait of how Berra handled his hard-earned success—on and off the playing field—as well as his failures; how the man who insisted "I really didn't say everything I said!" nonetheless shaped decades of America's culture; and how Berra's humility and grace redefined what it truly means to be a star.

Overshadowed on the field by Joe DiMaggio early in his career and later by a youthful Mickey Mantle, Berra emerges as not only the best loved Yankee but one of the most appealingly simple, innately complex, and universally admired men in all of America.

 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316310970
Publisher:	Little, Brown and Company
Publication date:	04/06/2021
Pages:	576
Sales rank:	171,857
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.20(h) x 1.70(d)

About the Author

Jon Pessah is the New York Times bestselling author of The Game, a critically-acclaimed examination of the power brokers who built the major league baseball into a multi-billion dollar business. A founding editor of ESPN the Magazine, where he ran the investigative team, Pessah has also managed the sports departments for Newsday and the Hartford Courant.

Table of Contents

Prologue: Wait 'Til You See Yogi 1

Part I American Dream / 1925-1946

Chapter 1 Decisions, Decisions 9

Chapter 2 Dago Hill 16

Chapter 3 Rickey's Mistake 24

Chapter 4 Yogi's Luck 36

Chapter 5 War 52

Chapter 6 Looks Are Deceiving 61

Chapter 7 The Longest 12 Miles 69

Part II Making It Big / 1947-1949

Chapter 8 Dreams Can Come True 83

Chapter 9 The First Ring 93

Chapter 10 The Girl Who Has It All 107

Chapter 11 Hits & Mrs. 116

Chapter 12 Learning Experience 124

Chapter 13 Season of Surprises 130

Part III Superstar / 1950-1956

Chapter 14 Main Man 145

Chapter 15 Big Money 159

Chapter 16 Passisng the Torch 166

Chapter 17 Big Shoes to Fill 179

Chapter 18 Four of a Kind 187

Chapter 19 Simply the Best 197

Chapter 20 Most Valuable 205

Chapter 21 History Lessons 214

Chapter 22 The Most Popular Player 224

Chapter 23 Almost Perfect 231

Part IV Yogi, Inc. 1957-1963

Chapter 24 The Tipping Point 253

Chapter 25 Season of Losses 268

Chapter 26 Beginning and the End 279

Chapter 27 Last Hurrah 288

Chapter 28 Witnesss to History 298

Chapter 29 Taking Charge 309

Part V Something to Prove / 1964-1985

Chapter 30 It's Over Before It's Over 327

Chapter 31 Surprise Ending 339

Chapter 32 A Second Chance 357

Chapter 33 Ya Gotta Believe 373

Chapter 34 Going Home 388

Chapter 35 The Bronx Zoo 399

Chapter 36 Sixteen Games 414

Part VI Saint Yogi / 1986-2015

Chapter 37 Different Stripes 435

Chapter 38 Filling the Void 443

Chapter 39 As Good as It Gets 450

Chapter 40 Perfect Timing 460

Chapter 41 Friends of Yogi 467

Chapter 42 Immortal 488

Epilogue 499

Acknowledgments 508

Notes and Sources 513

Index 551

Editorial Reviews

"If you're a lifetime baseball fan, you'd rather be watching an early-season major-league game now instead of recycled classics during this plague year. But Mr. Pessah's book is as good a proxy for baseball pleasure as you're going to find. It's a relaxed, sprawling affair-like those Yankee Stadium Sunday double-headers...This is a heart-warming narrative with a heroic protagonist who overcomes every imaginable obstacle to achieve greatness."—Edward Kosner, Wall Street Journal

"Now, when the baseball season would normally be in its early days, Jon Pessah's biography Yogi: A Life Behind the Mask arrives to help fill the void. It's a book that covers the funny quotes and the exceptional career, but also the complicated and sensitive person often obscured by the image."—John Williams, New York Times

"Pessah proves to be the only writer of baseball books who you would stand on line for hours to get copies of his work, on the day the publisher stocks store shelves."—Observer-Dispatch

"An incredible read."—Pittsburgh Post Gazette

"Better reading could hardly be found."—The Spectator

"Pessah provides a gripping account of the Yankees' postwar dynasty, but he also generates excitement for Berra's stint with the Mets, most notably the 1973 Amazin's. Where he excels is in probing the relationships in Berra's baseball career... The book also expertly situates Berra's life in historical context. Yogi: A Life Behind the Mask lives up to a Herculean task, offering a fresh look at a player ubiquitous in American culture. It will fit nicely on any Yankees fan's bookshelf."—Pinstripe Alley/SB Nation

"While a number of books have been written about Yogi Berra, none are as comprehensive as this in-depth account by sportswriter Pessah ...A thorough, engaging read for Berra fans and Yankee admirers."—Library Journal

"The funny anecdotes and exciting play-by-play from baseball's golden age will keep Berra's legions of fans happy."

—Publishers Weekly

"A vigorous biography of the New York Yankees legend... Yogi emerges as a man who was more thoughtful than many give him credit for...A welcome life of the Yankees icon and worthwhile reading for any baseball buff."—Kirkus

"Yogi Berra is a poster boy for the greatest generation; both a man of great character and a ... great character! His journey from "The Hill" to Normandy to Yankee hero to American icon is inspiring. Thank you Jon Pessah for making this book necessary!"—Marty Appel, Yankee historian and author of Pinstripe Empire,Munson and Casey Stengel

"Here's a contender for baseball book of the year. Pessah's Yogi is as warm, winning and entertaining as its subject-certain to be the definitive biography of an American legend."—Jonathan Eig, authorof Luckiest Man, Opening Day, and Ali: A Life

"Yogi Berra is the greatest winner of all time and one of baseball's most lovable, fascinating, and iconic players. Jon Pessah brings Yogi to life, from his childhood, to his brilliance as a Yankee, to his importance as a cultural icon. I thought I understood Yogi's life and career, but I learned something new on virtually every page."—TimKurkjian, senior baseball writer/analyst, ESPN

"Jon Pessah's meticulously sourced Yogi: A Life Behind the Mask immediately becomes essential for anyone interested in the life of a true American icon. The book is a serious and thoughtful treatment of a life that was a good deal more complex than most people realize. Throughout, it's Yogi's warmth, love of his family and loyalty to them and his friends that drive this narrative. Yogi Berra was a beautiful person with a big heart, and this biography more than does him justice. Simply put-a great read for any baseball fan."—Joe Garagiola Jr., Special Advisor to the President/CEO Arizona Diamondbacks

"Jon Pessah is not just an author who recounts history. He is a talented storyteller, as his critically acclaimed The Game illustrated. Now he has used his passion and prose to give us Yogi, a rich and poignant portrait of one of America's most beloved sports icons."—Clare Smith, JG Spink Award winner (2017) and ESPN Coordinating Editor/Baseball

"If Yogi Berra wasn't a true story, nobody could make him up. Or maybe a brilliant storyteller like Jon Pessah could! But thanks to Yogi, Pessah doesn't have to."—-Rob Neyer, author of Power Ball: Anatomy of a Modern Baseball Game

Yogi is a masterwork...Jon Pessah expertly reveals the powerful influence of one of baseball's, and perhaps all of America's, most golden-hearted and well-beloved characters."—Tyler Kepner, author of K: A History of Baseball in Ten Pitches

From the Publisher

02/03/2020

Legendary Hall-of-Famer and folk sage Yogi Berra is baseball’s humble yet profound everyman in this warmhearted biography. Pessah (The Game), founding editor of ESPN the Magazine, recounts Berra’s ascent from a childhood in a working-class Italian-American neighborhood in St. Louis to his career as the catcher of the storied Yankees of the 1940s and ’50s, when he won five consecutive World Series rings. Pessah styles Berra as beloved but insufficiently respected: he suffered secret pain from jibes at his intelligence and looks—his long arms and fire-hydrant silhouette got him dubbed “the Ape”—and his kindness earned him a reputation as a weak, ineffectual manager even though he won two pennants in six seasons. He’s a down-to-earth and well-behaved but recessive figure in much of the book, a stolid foil for the antics of more dramatic Yankees like the tragic aristocrat Joe DiMaggio, the rebel boozehound Mickey Mantle, and the soap opera trio of George Steinbrenner, Billy Martin, and Reggie Jackson. Throughout, Pessah celebrates Berra’s cultural afterlife as a font of artless aphorisms in which wisdom rises from the ruins of logic (“You should always go to other people’s funerals. Otherwise, they won’t come to yours”). The funny anecdotes and exciting play-by-play from baseball’s golden age will keep Berra’s legions of fans happy. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

03/01/2020

While a number of books have been written about Yogi Berra (1925–2015), none are as comprehensive as this in-depth account by sportswriter Pessah (The Game). Featuring firsthand interviews with those who knew Berra well, supported by research from secondary sources, the book sheds insight into baseball history during Berra's playing career (1946–63). Pessah offers a year-by-year recounting of Berra's evolution as a catcher for the New York Yankees, including ten World Series championships. Yankee fans will appreciate knowing more about Berra's relationship with owner George Steinbrenner and teammates Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle. Not only does the work focus on Berra's career, it also explains how he became such a legendary figure in the sport. The one possible drawback might be the work's high level of detail, which may be overwhelming for most casual readers. VERDICT A thorough, engaging read for Berra fans and Yankee admirers.—Pamela Calfo, Bridgeville P.L., PA

Library Journal

2020-01-12
A vigorous biography of the New York Yankees legend.

Lorenzo Pietro Berra (1925-2015), first nicknamed "Lawdie," wasn't supposed to be a baseball star. His father, an Italian immigrant to St. Louis, discouraged his ambitions, saying that it wasn't seemly for a man to make a living playing a boy's game. Branch Rickey shook his head at the young man's prospects. He was goofy looking and odd, speaking a "mangled English [that was] the product of his Italian-language household and his uneasy relationship with school." Yet, as Pessah, a founding editor of ESPN the Magazine, writes, Lawdie shook them off. Soon given the new nickname of "Yogi" for his habit of sitting cross-legged while waiting to bat or take the field, he started racking up admirable statistics—and a solid sense of how the business of baseball worked, which served him well. He was especially well served by a mistrust of management early on, for Yogi would fare ill at the hands of executives like George Steinbrenner in his later career as a coach and manager. The narrative often takes a play-by-play flavor ("Bodie doesn't disappoint. He brings in Yankee Phil Rizzuto to play shortstop and Red Sox star Dom DiMaggio—Joe D's younger brother—to man center field") that suits the story just fine. Yogi emerges as a man who was more thoughtful than many give him credit for, even if he may have often played the rube—when told he was at an impasse in negotiating a contract, he replied, "What the hell is an impasse?" Of course, as any baseball fan knows, he was no slouch on the field, known far and wide for hammering pitches into the parking lot and giving teammate Mickey Mantle a run for his money as a slugger.

A welcome life of the Yankees icon and worthwhile reading for any baseball buff.

Kirkus Reviews