Montclair, New Jersey : Memorials on the campus of a state university
- nagai808
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
I was eight years old in 1955. That fall, the New York Yankees came to Japan to play against Japanese professional baseball teams. I watched one of those games live at the stadium and was captivated by the Yankees' play. I became an avid Major League Baseball fan, and the Yankees who visited Japan that time remain unforgettable to me. Among them was Yogi Berra, the legendary catcher whose name will forever be remembered in Major League Baseball history.
In August 2017, I visited New York City for the first time in a long while and also went to Montclair, New Jersey, which is nearby.
Montclair is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, with a population of approximately 40,000, and could also be considered within commuting distance of New York City. “The Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center” and “Yogi Berra Stadium” opened on the Montclair State University campus in 1998. I made the trip to Montclair to visit them.
Yogi Berra passed away in 2015, two years before my visit to Montclair in 2017, at the age of 90.
Yogi Berra was born and raised in Missouri, not Montclair. However, after getting married, he settled in Montclair and lived there with his family for many years. It seems there was a time when he commuted from his home to Yankee Stadium. It's likely that this connection is why there's a museum named after him in Montclair.
As you can see, Yogi Berra is not a graduate of Montclair State University (he did not study at any university), yet a museum named after him is located on the Montclair State University campus. I think this is a great example of the respect that universities show to outstanding athletes in the United States. Unfortunately, I don't think there are any universities in Japan that do this.
Now, I arrived at Montclair State University around 10:30 on Sunday, August 20th. The campus was beautiful and spacious, filled with enviable greenery, and in one corner was the “Yogi Berra Museum and Learning Center”. It was a very attractive building with a glass exterior, and a bronze statue of Yogi Berra was placed in front of the edge of the building.
Right next to the museum was “Yogi Berra Stadium”. It's a magnificent baseball stadium that is the home field of the Montclair State University baseball team. When I visited in 2017, it was also the home field of the independent league team, the New Jersey Jackals, but it appears the Jackals' home field has now moved to another location.
Since there was still over an hour until the museum opened at noon, I decided to have a coffee in the campus cafeteria while I waited.
When I entered the cafeteria, I found it to be buffet-style, with an incredibly wide variety of menu items that would be unthinkable at a Japanese university. I was just hoping to have a coffee, but the food on display immediately whetted my appetite, so I paid $10.15 and ate to my heart's content. It was summer vacation, and a Sunday, so there were only a few other customers in the spacious cafeteria. So, I ate without worrying about what others thought, and everything on the menu was absolutely delicious.
12 o'clock. Filled, I returned to the museum, paid the $5 admission fee, and went inside.
The young black woman working as the receptionist smiled when I spoke to her, so I decided to ask her a few questions. She was very kind and answered all my questions. She explained to me why there's a museum named after Yogi Berra in Montclair, even though it's not his hometown. She also explained why it's not just called the Yogi Berra Museum, but also a Learning Center. It's because Yogi Berra himself often came here to teach children about the importance of sportsmanship and contributing to society, in addition to displaying exhibits. Amazing! I was happy to learn that someone I'll never forget had done such a wonderful thing.
When I asked the young black woman, “Can I take photos inside the museum?” she smiled and replied, “Of course you can.” So I decided to take lots of photos inside the museum.
The museum wasn't particularly large, but it wasn't cramped either. There were a great many exhibits, including various photos of Yogi Berra from his playing days and after he retired, baseball equipment from his playing days, the plaque commemorating his three season MVP awards, and photos of him with Babe Ruth and Derek Jeter.
All of the exhibits were well worth seeing, but the one that most captivated me was one photo. It was of Yogi Berra relaxing with his sons after returning to the United States from a visit to Japan. Yogi Berra is wearing a traditional Japanese coat called a “hanten”. The long, thick collar even has the kanji for Tokyo's former name written on it. Looking at this photo, I was delighted to think that Yogi Berra must have been pleased to have visited Japan.
I spent about an hour and a half looking around the museum, and during that time there was not a single other visitor. So, in the very quiet museum, I was reminded of myself as an eight-year-old, and was able to look around and be deeply moved by each exhibit related to my hero, Yogi Berra. It was the best time.
(If I've made a mistake or left out something important, please let me know. I'll try to make corrections or additions.)