Happy Mothers’ Day from all of us at Baseball History Comes Alive!

We can’t let a great occasion like Mothers Day pass without finding a connection to old-time baseball! So here’s my little contribution to the day, a salute to…

“Baseball Mothers!”

In the featured photo, we see the great Hall of Famer, Yogi Berra with his parents, Pietro and Paolina (Lingori).  To his family, young Lawrence was known as “Lawdie,” which is the way “Lawrence” came out to his parents with their native Italian tongue.  Not sure if the photo was taken on Mothers Day or not, but it sure looks like they’re all having a pretty good time sitting around the family kitchen table!

Here’s a little information I found about Yogi and his parents from the Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center website: 

Yogi Berra was a first-generation Italian-American who grew up in a St. Louis neighborhood called “The Hill,” where he was surrounded by recent immigrants and raised with a sense of community informed by Italian traditions. Yogi’s father, Pietro, had come to the United States alone in 1909 from Malvaglio, a northern Italian town close to Milan. Temporarily leaving his wife, Paolina, and two firstborn children in Italy, Pietro arrived through Ellis Island alongside thousands of other immigrants from across Europe. After a brief stay in New York City, Pietro settled in St. Louis, his wife and children following him there soon after. Once settled, Pietro and Paolina had three more children, Yogi second among them.

Click on any photo in the gallery to see a photo tribute to other baseball mothers. So far I’ve found the mothers of Ernie Banks, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Jackie Robinson, Lou Gehrig, Paul and Lloyd Waner, Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Walter Johnson, Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, and Birdie Tebbetts.

As we look at Lou Gehrig helping his mother, Christina, with the Mothers Day dishes, let’s remember to do our part so that our wives and mothers can all have a special day! If the Iron Horse can do it…so can we!