Contact: Bob Quarteroni
Phone: (201) 655-4333
E-mail: quarteronir@saturn.montclair.edu Of baseball, literature and Yogi Berra... UPPER MONTCLAIR, N.J. Montclair State University will soon start work on Yogi Berra Baseball Stadium. Even before the first shovel bites into the dirt, an MSU English professor is helping students field anything from pop-ups to long line drives, at least metaphorically: He's offering a course entitled "Baseball in Literature and Film." "Even as an undergraduate at Harvard and a graduate student at Penn, I would sneak off to Fenway Park in Boston or Philadelphia's Veterans Stadium," says Daniel Bronson, associate professor of English, a one-time Little League centerfielder (the "Richie Ashburn type" he says) and lifelong baseball fan. With that background, it wasn't surprising he would offer his baseball and literature course. What was surprising was the campus reaction. "Professors from history, philosophy, psychology and English all dropped in to offer their tapes, books, memories and their favorite Yogi Berra stories," Bronson said. "Berra was a great hit at MSU's commencement last year and everyone seems to have a favorite Yogi story." Bronson, like many Americans, has had a longtime fascination with Berra, a Montclair resident and staunch supporter of MSU. But Bronson learned about Yogi up close and personal. As a contributing editor at Us magazine in the 1980s, Bronson interviewed Joe Garagiola, Berra's lifelong friend and fellow catcher, for an article on baseball superstitions. Garagiola related many memorable Berra stories. Among them: Yogi believed that there were only so many hits in any one bat. One day in spring training, Yogi came out of the dugout with a bag brimming with bats. He lugged it over to the opposing dugout and dropped it in front of Garagiola, who sported a dismal lifetime batting average. "Here," Yogi said. "There are no hits left in these, but that shouldn't bother you any." | |
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