This lot is closed. Bidding ended on 4/15/2010.
Between the Bronx and Queens, Yogi Berra spent 40 years as a player, coach, and manager in the City of New York, picking up 13 World Series Championships along the way. His 15 All-Star selections from 1948 to 1962 covered nearly his entire playing career as a Yankee, accolades that he padded with three AL MVP nods in the early 1950s. Remarkably, Berra received MVP votes in 15 consecutive seasons. As a hitter, he was excellent at hitting poor pitches, covering all areas of the strike zone with great extension. His bat control allowed him to chop high pitches for line drives and golf low pitches for homeruns, five times finishing a season with more homeruns than strikeouts. His defensive play behind the plate was even more impressive, as his quickness and mobility allowed him to handle all kinds of pitchers, including Don Larsen in his 1956 World Series perfect game. This catcher’s mask was worn by Yogi during the 1950s, and comes with a photo style match. The black metal facemask is stitched into soft leather, lightly toned padding that Berra wore against his face. A vertical brown leather strap which was worn behind Yogi’s head is hooked into the front of the mask and displays a “YOGI BERRA” branding along with the inventory number “1514”. It is connected to a horizontal blue spandex strap, in the middle of which is stitched a Spalding manufacturer’s tag. The mask shows excellent game-use with sweat marks on the inside of the mask and a lot of chipping on the metal mask itself. Yogi has autographed the chin of the mask in silver paint marker, with the signature rating a strong 8. Comes with a Berra LOA, which he wrote on Yankees letterhead, in addition to a JSA LOA.