The Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center is honoring Montclair for “Honor Your Hometown,” a volunteer-led social media campaign initiated by documentary filmmaker Ken Burns.
The museum’s submission shows Yogi’s oldest son, Larry Berra, and granddaughter Lindsay, in what Ken Burns describes in USA Today as a “laugh-out-lou d… madcap race to tell us about all of the great ballplayers’ hometowns.”
“The mission to connect community that drives this effort perfectly aligns with Yogi’s legacy and our values as an institution,” Eve Schaenen, executive director of the museum, said. “As we try to demonstrate in the video – with a good dose of fun – Yogi connects to what’s best in all the hometowns he touched.”
The video explores artifacts in the museum to highlight the places most associated with the Hall of Fame catcher: his childhood hometown of St. Louis, his Bronx hometown with the NY Yankees, his Queens hometown with the NY Mets; his Houston hometown with the Astros, and finally, his chosen hometown of Montclair.
“We are so grateful to Ken Burns for including us in this important effort. If we had more time, we could have listed many more places that claim Yogi as their own,” Schaenen said. “The fact is, Yogi belongs to all the hometowns, because he represents what’s best in all of us.”
The campaign features 1- to 2-minute video contributions by more than 150 prominent individuals, mayors and premier arts, culture, history, community service and veterans organizations.