There's not much to this story. Dad was on a submarine in the Pacific, towards the end of World War II, and they were in a designated "safe" area near New Zealand. Yogi Berra joined the Navy, and was assigned with other Major and Minor Leaguers to play baseball, in an effort to boost morale. The Navy team played against all comers, often a group of guys who'd been depth-charged a couple of days earlier, so just about anyone could play in a game with some big names.
Yogi was definitely the "star" of the "all-star" team he toured the Pacific with. Dad named a few, and they rang some bells, I'd have to do some research, but they weren't like DiMagio, or Ted Williams (although they did military time playing ball during WWII). Dad commented that Yogi made himself available to "the troops," engaging many in one-to-one conversations.
Dad wasn't a part of any personal conversation, but he heard Yogi speaking to a bunch of other guys. Dad wasn't a groupie. He saw everybody the same, everyone put their pants on the same way, so just because a guy makes a ton of money for playing a game doesn't bestow any godly qualities on him. In other words, Dad watched other people react to celebrity.
The only thing Dad did say about Yogi was that he was dumber than dog [doo-doo].
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