Yogi Berra’s family shed tears on Thursday, even while regaling visitors with upbeat stories about the late Yankee legend and his indomitable spirit.
Even at his lowest points, they said, Berra — who died Tuesday at age 90 — still managed to put a smile on the faces of those around him.
Son Dale Berra played 11 seasons in the big leagues, including two with the Yankees. Yogi was the Bombers’ Opening Day manager in 1985, Dale’s first year with the team, but his dad was canned 16 games into the season.
Dale remembered how crushed he was, but Yogi told him to cheer up.
“I remember walking into the office and going, ‘Dad,’ and he goes, ‘What are you worried about? I’m going to play golf tomorrow,’ ” Dale, 58, told reporters at the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center in New Jersey.
The Yankees were in Chicago when Yogi was fired. But instead of taking a separate cab to the airport, Yogi rode on the team bus.
“The whole bus full of players stood up and clapped for him as he walked off the bus . . . and waved at the bus,” Dale Berra said.
“Talk about being humble and [having] humility.”
Sons Dale, Larry and Tim were joined by Larry’s daughter, Lindsay Berra, in saying they have nothing but pleasant memories of the Yankee icon.
They said Yogi was the ultimate role model.
“I wanted to be like him. I admired everything he did,” Tim Berra, 64, said. “Dad talked to the baker, the garbage man and the CEO in the same way. What you saw was what you got.”
Despite a lifetime in baseball. Yogi knew when to take off the catcher’s mask or put down the lineup card at home, loved ones said.
“He separated baseball from family life,” said Larry Berra, 65. “He took us to his games but we just went to work with dad. He was a family man. At home, baseball was on the back burner.”
Plans for Yogi’s funeral have not been set. There will be a public memorial at the museum on Oct. 1.
Berra played 18 seasons with the Yankees, which included 10 World Series championships — a major league record for any player.
City Hall paid tribute Thursday to Berra, who managed both the Yankees and Mets to the World Series, by placing four stadium seats — two from Shea Stadium and a pair from the original Yankee Stadium — at the building entrance, with a Yankee pinstripe jersey bearing his No. 8 hanging above.
Additional reporting by Michael Gartland and David K. Li