Yogi Berra, the baseball legend whose Scouting service earned him the Silver Buffalo Award, has died. He was 90.
While known worldwide as the New York Yankees catcher with an unmatched sense of humor, Berra was also a fervent supporter of Scouting.
He established the Yogi Berra Golf Classic in 1991, a tournament that went on to raise more than $1 million for Scouts with special needs in the Northern New Jersey Council. In that same tournament in 1998, Berra even hit a hole-in-one.
The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center in Little Falls, N.J., continues to educate and inspire thousands of youth. And Berra and his wife, Carmen, established an endowment fund to support special-needs Scouting and other youth programs.
In 2003, this commitment to the community earned Berra the Silver Buffalo Award, the BSA’s highest honor for service to youth. In his acceptance speech, Berra offered up a classic Yogi-ism.
“It’s a real honor to receive the Silver Buffalo Award,” he said. “Kids are our future — even if the future isn’t what it used to be.”
As he presented Berra with the award, Chief Scout Executive Roy Williams took a moment to honor the Hall of Famer.
“[Berra] is a true American legend who believes in the basic values of hard work, common sense, fairness, integrity and commitment — and his good sense of humor has helped to make him an American icon. Yogi embodies the values of the Scout Oath and Law and all that’s great about America.”
Berra in Boys’ Life
Berra was on the cover of the April 1963 issue of Boys’ Life magazine.
Inside, Boys’ Life included an excerpt from Arthur Daley’s book Kings of the Home Run. See the complete story as it appeared below (and click each photo to enlarge).
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