ItalianAmerican: Yogi Berra

Baseball season is right around the corner, and this I, along with many others, will especially look forward to this season as a symbol to the end of a harsher than normal Northeast winter. Although I never like to sound like a cry baby, I couldn’t even hack this winter. Too much cold, far too much snow. We actually just got hammered again with more ice and snow.

While having coffee with my Dad last night, we were flipping channels back and forth between the Mets and Yankees spring training games, watching the action in those absolutely balmy Florida climates.

It looked wonderful. The crowd was dressed in short sleeves, and there was some sweating going on.

With spring almost here, I could not help but get excited about getting me some hardball. A name almost synonymous with the word baseball is Yankee Hall of Fame catcher Yogi Berra. An unquestionable Italian American sporting icon, he was named American League MVP three times, voted an All Star 15 times, and was part of 10 World Series winners for the Yankees.

As accomplished as his baseball career was, Yogi is best remembered for his sometimes unintentionally funny quotes about baseball and life. The most famous is “It ain’t over till its over“, but there is a literal goldmine of “Yogiisms” that many people haven’t discovered yet.

My current favorite is “People used to say the Yankees won a lot because we led the league in Italians.”

The content below, courtesy of Wikipedia, is just a sampling of the brilliance of Yogi Berra. These are some classic quotes, along with what may be their origin.

Happy spring (baseball season) to all!

As a general comment on baseball: “90% of the game is half mental.”
On why he no longer went to Ruggeri’s, a St. Louis restaurant: “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”
“It ain’t over till it’s over.” In July 1973, when Berra’s Mets trailed the Chicago Cubs by 9½ games in the National League East; the Mets rallied to win the division title on the final day of the season.
When giving directions to Joe Garagiola to his New Jersey home, which is accessible by two routes: “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
On being the guest of honor at an awards banquet: “Thank you for making this day necessary.”
“It’s déjà vu all over again“. Berra explained that this quote originated when he witnessed Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris repeatedly hit back-to-back home runs in the Yankees’ seasons in the early 1960s.
“You can observe a lot by watching.”
“Always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise they won’t go to yours.”
Responding to a question about remarks attributed to him that he did not think were his: “I really didn’t say everything I said.”

ItalianAmerican: Sylvester Stallone

88th Annual Academy Awards -Arrivals — The 88th Annual Academy Awards Arrivals Featuring: Sylvester Stallone, Jennifer Flavin Where: Los Angeles, California, United States When: 28 Feb 2016 Credit: Apega/WENN.com

Since the mid 1970’s, Sylvester Stallone has been my definition of the term American Idol. As writer, actor, and director of some of the most famous franchises in the film industry, he has been nothing less than an Italian American inspiration.

He has inspired me for many years. In a previous post, I wrote how the original Rocky, the movie that was his breakthrough project, was also important in the life of a particular socially awkward pre-teen.

With this inspirational movie as my training catalyst, I went from an overweight introvert destined for a life of sloth and obesity, to a young man that could do miles of running with ease, and, if needed, physically eject uncooperative patrons from my family’s bar/restaurant.

Stallone kicked ass, and he showed me how to do it, too.

Again…thank you Mr. Stallone.

“I think everyone has a certain kind of formula in their life. When you deviate from that formula, you’re going to fail big or you’re gonna win big.”

“I believe there’s an inner power that makes winners or losers. And the winners are the ones who really listen to the truth of their hearts.”

“I have great expectations for the future, because the past was highly overrated.”

“Once in one’s life, for one mortal moment, one must make a grab for immortality; if not, one has not lived.”

“Success is usually the culmination of controlling failure.”

ItalianAmerican: Vince Lombardi

“The dictionary is the only place that success comes before work. Hard work is the price we must pay for success.”

“It’s easy to have faith in yourself and have discipline when you’re a winner, when you’re number one. What you got to have is faith and discipline when you’re not a winner.”

” The difference between a successful person and others is not a lack of strength, not a lack of knowledge, but rather a lack of will.”

“We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.”

“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.”

ItalianAmerican: Joe Girardi

Just outside East Peoria, Ill., in a one-story brick building in a small town called Washington, there used to be a Italian restaurant on Wilmore Street where locals could count on reasonable prices and old-world cooking, and a warm personal greeting from the owners. The place was called Girardi’s.

“They served the best ravioli I’ve ever had in my life,” says Jane Miller, a longtime patron.

That was mother Angela Girardi, welcoming customers by the door, a hostess with a long, flowing dress and a background in psychology. That was father Jerry in the kitchen, a man who once harbored baseball dreams of his own, cooking the pasta and simmering the sauces.

And those were the five kids, including the future manager of the Yankees, busing tables, slinging dishes and mopping floors, all hands pitching in, most of them heading to high places. Though the restaurant has long since closed, Angela dying a quarter-century ago, Jerry moving into an assisted-living facility, his faculties stolen by Alzheimer’s, the steadfast, selfless tracks laid down by the parents remain in place.

Since we are well underway with this current baseball season, I thought it fitting that the subject of this installment of All My Heroes would be current New York Yankees manager Joe Girardi. Like Jim Valvano in the post before him, Joe Girardi is the product of an Italian American family that instilled in him the values and work ethic that propelled him to the top of his game.

The above text comes from a NY Daily News article by Wayne Coffey, written just after Girardi was named manager of the Yankees, to succeed long time manager Joe Torre. The article goes on to detail the story of a man who, although now a very public figure, was guided by parents who stressed upon him education, drive, and an unshakeable perseverance to be the very best at what he does.

Girardi’s critics more than likely think managing a line-up of all-star players to a World Series victory was not a difficult accomplishment. I beg to differ. Managing and organizing a team of what has to be super size egos through a 162 game gauntlet and to yet another world championship had to be anything but easy. And kudos to him for doing it.

Those wheels were set in motion long ago, however. Angela and Jerry Girardi, stressing the hard work, goal setting, and never-give-up attitude that it would take, started their son’s quest for perfection in pinstripes in his youth, within a small town Italian restaurant. Where they served one mean ravioli.

Hopefully, Yankee fans will enjoy the result of their labor for many years to come.

I will be occasionally posting a feature that will highlight quotes and anecdotes from famous and not so famous Italian Americans. ItalianAmerican will hopefully provide some inspiration and motivation, as well as a positive reflection of the immigrants that came to America, and their generations that follow.

ItalianAmerican: Jim Valvano

“To me, there are three things we all should do every day. We should do this every day of our lives. Number one is laugh. You should laugh every day. Number two is think. You should spend some time in thought. And number three is, you should have your emotions moved to tears, could be happiness or joy. But think about it. If you laugh, you think, and you cry, that’s a full day. That’s a heck of a day. You do that seven days a week, you’re going to have something special.”

“How do you go from where you are, to where you want to be? I think you have to have an enthusiasm for life. You have to have a dream, a goal, and you have to be willing to work for it.”

“My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person…he believed in me.”

In the midst of the basketball frenzy that is March Madness, it’s a great time to reflect on the motivational genius that was Jim Valvano. He was very accomplished as a basketball coach, helping his team pull off one of the greatest upsets in college hoops history.

Two of the above quotes come from another pivotal moment in his life: His acceptance speech of the Arthur Ashe Courage and Humanitarian Award. It was an emotional speech that he gave to a riveted audience, even though he knew he was dying of cancer.

To be inspired by this monumental speech, see the entire transcript here.

It is remarkable that a man in his position, with the diagnosis that was given him, still maintained a positive attitude towards his career, sport, and life in general. Knowing about and listening to the Jim Valvanos’ of the world is a very humbling experience.