Yogi Berra Receives Posthumous Medal of Freedom

Last May, we told you about the petition to give Yogi Berra the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  The support was a success, and Yogi will be one of seventeen recipients this year.

Yogi is one of a pair of MLB Hall of Famers receiving the medal this year, along with Willie Mays. Nine baseball players had been awarded previously: Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Roberto Clemente, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial, Buck O’Neil, Frank Robinson, Jackie Robinson and Ted Williams.

Berra joined the Yankees in their minor league system for one year before turning 18 and enlisting in the Navy, where he was part of the D-Day Invasion at Utah Beach. He played for the Yankees from 1946 through 1963, winning 10 World Series Championships, 3 MVP trophies, and making 15 All-Star teams, before being inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.

Sadly, Berra passed away in September.