Yogi Berra Marquee Hall of Fame 1972

He caught 1,695 games for the Yankees, played 262 more in the outfield, and was chosen for fifteen All-Star teams. The club won fourteen pennants in his eighteen seasons there and took the World Series in ten of them: 1947, 1949 through 1953, 1956, 1958, 1961 and 1962.

The writers gave him the Most Valuable Player award in 1951, 1954 and 1955; only Roy Campanella, catching at the same time across town, has won as many at the position. Berra hit 358 home runs and struck out 414 times in his career, and never struck out more than 38 times in a season. He drove in 1,430 runs.

He grew up in an Italian neighborhood of St. Louis and was underestimated for most of his career by people who watched him win. He later managed both New York clubs, and finished his playing days with four games for the 1965 Mets. He became famous outside baseball for remarks he often said he never made. The writers elected him in 1972 with 339 of 396 votes.