Yogi Berra, arguably the greatest catcher of all time and one of the most unusual yet loving people, passed away Tuesday, September 22. He was 90.

The Yogi Berra Museum, located in Little Falls, N.J. and the New York Yankees organization announced his death. Berra moved into a nursing home in a neighboring town in 2012 where he died of natural causes.

Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra was born in an Italian neighborhood to his immigrant parents who came to the United States through  Ellis Island. While still young, he received his iconic nickname, Yogi, from a friend who said he looked like a Hindu yogi when he was sitting with his legs crossed or while sulking during a bad game.

He was first admired by the St.Louis Cardinals in 1942, along with his childhood best friend Joe Garagiola, who eventually became his competitor. However, the Yankees signed him to the Norfolk Tars, a nearby minor league team.

What a lot of people don’t know about Berra is that he served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, where he was a gunner’s mate during the D-Day invasion of France. Furthermore, he fired machine guns and launched rockets at German defenses at Omaha Beach. After returning home from the war, he received  several commendations for his bravery.  Berra continued his baseball career playing for the Newark Bears and was taught by Bill Dickey. Berra later discussed him stating “I owe everything I did in baseball to Bill Dickey.”

One of the most extraordinary facts about Yogi Berra’s life was that his death came 69 years to the day after his major league debut. He blasted a home run in his second major league plate appearance, although he went on to only appear in seven games that season and 83 the next. He then played in 100 or more games each year for the next 14 years. If that’s not awe-inspiring enough, Berra then reached 14 World Series’ and won 10; both stats became all-time records.

He came at the right time as this was an era of frequent World Series participation for the Bronx Bombers.  He established multiple World Series records such as most games, hits, doubles and games caught, just to name a few. In Game 3 of the 1947 World Series, Berra hit the first pinch-hit home run in World Series history. He was selected to the All Star game 18 times and won the American League (AL) MVP award in 1951, 1954 and 1955. This was all while he was playing alongside fellow Hall of Famers Mickey Mantle and Joe DiMaggio, which is an extraordinary circumstance.

Berra retired soon after the 1963 World Series and became the manager for the Yankees, although he was fired after just one season and then immediately began to coach the crosstown rival New York Mets for seven seasons, including the “Amazin’ Mets” 1969 World Series Championship season. He also coached the Yankees again, as well as the Houston Astros, but was never successful.

He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972, the same year the Yankees retired his number. In 1998, he was awarded a  plaque to be put up in Monument Park in Yankee Stadium; Berra was even given his own day on July 18 at the Yanks’ ballpark.

Although he was one of the greatest players in a legendary organization, there was one characteristic or way with words that truly set him apart from the rest: his “Yogi-isms,” his philosophical quotes that seem impossible to understand, his “It ain’t over ‘till it’s over.” They went on forever, with ones such as “When you come to a fork in the road, take it” and  “You can observe a lot by watching.”  That is what made Yogi Berra the Yogi Berra we know and will love forever. May he live on forever in our hearts.