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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

NY Yankees legend Yogi Berra gives NASCAR great Jimmie Johnson tour of museum

Car racing is 90 percent mental. The other half is hot pictures of Panica Datrick.

But Johnson likes the Yankees and Berra used to watch dirt-track racing as a kid in St. Louis. So they shared a few common threads. And, of course, each owns plenty of championships.

A pair of cameras flashed as Berra led Johnson on a tour of the museum. They walked past exhibits dedicated to Yankees lore: Lou Gehrig’s farewell address; Don Larsen’s perfect game; Berra’s Most Valuable Player trophies from 1954 and 1955.

“This is great stuff,’’ Johnson said, then rubbed his hand across a plaque commemorating Joe DiMaggio.

They rounded a corner and Berra pointed to a picture. Johnson couldn’t recognize the faces of former Yankees like Ralph Houk and Eddie Lopat. The picture was taken in 1948.

“48?’’ Johnson said. “I wasn’t even around then.’’

Repoz Posted: November 24, 2009 at 06:35 AM | 6 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: hall of fame, history, yankees

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1. AndrewJ Posted: November 24, 2009 at 01:54 PM (#3395352)

Jimmie was airlifted from his subsequent NASCAR event after following Yogi's advice on what to do when he came to a fork in the track...

2. Home Run Teal & Black Black Black Gone! Posted: November 24, 2009 at 03:02 PM (#3395395)

Jimmie Johnson versus Da Bears Bus. Whose got it?

3. Jose Canusee Posted: November 24, 2009 at 05:10 PM (#3395557)

We were at a hotel in Vegas with some baseball memorabilia, including signed souvenir bats from several WS teams of that era. One of the Yankee ones I think had "Larry Berra" (Yogi's name is Lawrence)on it. Maybe Jimmie would have asked "That some kin o' yourn?"

4. SoSH U at work Posted: November 24, 2009 at 05:20 PM (#3395576)

I was hoping the museum in question was something like the Metropolitan Museum of Art. A Yogi-guided tour of The Met would be pretty damn cool.

5. Designated Sitter (GGC) Posted: November 24, 2009 at 05:36 PM (#3395599)

"That some kin o' yourn?"

Isn't Johnson from California or something? There's NASCAR drivers from all over nowadays; including Colombia and Connecticut.

6. vortex of dissipation Posted: November 24, 2009 at 09:37 PM (#3395904)

Berra always signed autographs as "Larry Berra" until 1947:

"Umpire Bill McGowan arranged for me to autograph a couple of baseballs," Berra writes of a 1947 event allowing the underpaid umps of the day to hustle a few bucks at dinners with signed baseballs. Berra signed the balls as Larry Berra and McGowan asked, "Who the hell put Larry Berra on here?"

Berra protested that his name was Larry Berra and McGowan said, "The hell it is. Sign them Yogi. That's your name, ain't it?"

List of 2009 NASCAR Sprint Cup wins by driver's home state:

California 8
Nevada 6
Arkansas 5
Indiana 4
Virginia 4
Washington 2
Wisconsin 2
Connecticut 1
Florida 1
Michigan 1
Missouri 1
North Carolina 1

Johnson is from California, but I'm not shocked to learn that he's a Yankees fan. It fits his personality prefectly...

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Tuesday, November 24, 2009

NY Yankees legend Yogi Berra gives NASCAR great Jimmie Johnson tour of museum

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