Did Yogi Berra really say all those things he said?
Berra, who died at 90 on Tuesday, was one of professional baseball’s most famous figures, known as much for his memorable quips as for his excellence on the field. But the origin of many of these so-called Yogi-isms is murky — and some he never said at all.
Berra playfully acknowledged the twisted attribution over the decades, characteristically revealing nothing and everything in his responses. (“I might have said ’em, but you never know,” he once said.) In 1998, he published an aptly titled book on the matter, “The Yogi Book: I Really Didn’t Say Everything I Said.”
Here is an effort to untangle the beginnings of his most famous remarks:
“It ain’t over till it’s over.”
Berra actually said “You’re not out until you’re out,” according to the writer Dave Anderson, who quoted Berra in a New York Times column when Berra was managing the Mets in 1974.
The first time The Times cited the quote that endured was in 1982, when the Connecticut state attorney general candidate, the future senator Joseph I. Lieberman, attributed it to Berra.
Over the years, Berra was also incorrectly credited as saying, “It ain’t over till the fat lady sings.”
“That’s one of the things that I said that I never said,” Berra told a Times reporter in 1998, when he was marketing his book on Yogi-isms.
“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
Berra said this as advice to graduates in a speech at Montclair State commencement in 1996, although in a context that implied he had used it before.
In a 1998 collection of his sayings, he reported that he had originated it when giving the baseball player and announcer Joe Garagiola directions to his house. The blog Quote Investigator found the quip in a newspaper from 1913, but Berra certainly popularized it.
“I can’t think and hit at the same time.”
When he was playing for the Yankees and known for his hitting, Berra said this to a coach, according to a 1988 Times article.
“If you can’t imitate him, don’t copy him.”
Berra was quoted giving this advice to a young player who was trying to emulate the slugger Frank Robinson’s swing.
“Ninety percent of the game is half mental.”
This quote is often attributed as “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.” In his book, Berra took credit for the version above.
“I want to thank everybody for making this day necessary.”
Berra was quoted as saying this in 1947, when he was a rookie with the Yankees and was honored by his hometown.
“It’s déjà vu all over again!”
Berra told Times language columnist William Safire in 1987 that he never said it, but later in life was known to take credit.
Quote Investigator found references back to the 1960s in newspapers and elsewhere not tied to Berra.
The first Times reference to the phrase attributed to Berra was 1985 in an editorial on the scandal over the French sinking of the Rainbow Warrior.
Berra is also reported to have said this as he reacted to his teammates Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris’ hitting back-to-back home runs.
“Makes perfect sense to me,” he said, acknowledging the characterization decades later.
In the same 1987 column by Safire, Berra did not take credit for another widely-attributed Yogi-ism: “Always go to other people’s funerals. Otherwise, they won’t go to yours.”
“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
For at least the past 40 years, Berra has been quoted as saying this about a popular restaurant. An article by The Times in 1973 included this Yogi-ism. Berra’s wife, Carmen, confirmed to Safire that he had said this about a popular restaurant, but provided no further details.
The Times first attributed this to Berra during a profile of him in 1972, when he was selected for the Hall of Fame.
The same bit, though, predates the citations to Berra, appearing in The New Yorker and elsewhere as far back as the 1940s.
