THAT TIME YOGI BERRA BROUGHT YOGI BEAR TO COURT

The character Yogi Bear was created by Hanna-Barbera and first appeared in 1958 as a supporting character in The Huckleberry Hound Show. Over time, Yogi Bear became so popular that he received his own show in 1961, The Yogi Bear Show.

The name "Yogi Bear" was widely believed to be a play on the name of the famous Yankees catcher, Yogi Berra. Yogi Berra, whose real name was Lawrence Peter Berra, was nicknamed "Yogi" because of his habit of sitting with his arms and legs crossed, resembling a yoga practitioner.

The connection between Yogi Bear and Yogi Berra was clear enough that in 1961, Yogi Berra filed a lawsuit against Hanna-Barbera, claiming that the cartoon bear's name was a blatant misappropriation of his name and likeness. Berra argued that the similarity in names caused confusion, leading people to believe he was somehow associated with the cartoon character.

However, the lawsuit did not progress far. Hanna-Barbera's defense was that Yogi Bear was an entirely original character and that any resemblance to Yogi Berra was purely coincidental. The company also contended that the bear’s name was chosen for its catchy, memorable quality, unrelated to the baseball player. Eventually, Berra dropped the lawsuit, likely due to the difficulty of proving that the character was a direct take on his identity, and the association between the two names remained in popular culture.  Despite the legal skirmish, Yogi Bear's popularity only grew, and he became an iconic figure in animation history. 

Yogi Berra, meanwhile, continued his illustrious baseball career, and over time, the initial controversy over the name faded into a quirky anecdote rather than a serious legal or cultural issue. He became one of the most beloved figures in baseball history, enjoyed immense popularity during his career and beyond. Known for his exceptional skills as a catcher and his unique, often humorous way of expressing himself, Berra became a cultural icon both on and off the field.

--Alvin Izzo
BYB Yankee History Contributor