What a day July 18th, 1999 was for the New York Yankees. After a 14-year boycott from Hall of Famer Yogi Berra towards the ballclub stemming from his early-season firing in the 1985 season by George Steinbrenner, but all was forgiven when the Yankees honored the Hall of Fame catcher with “Yogi Berra Day” at Yankee Stadium on that July 18th day. With special guests on the field during the ceremony, it was fitting that Don Larsen (author of the only perfect game in postseason history and battery-mates from that fateful game) threw out the first pitch to Yogi, while using catcher Joe Girardi’s glove.

In what can only be described as a “Hollywood”-like event, David Cone, with both Berra and Larsen on hand, tossed a perfect game against the Montreal Expos. Cone’s perfecto was only the 14th in Major League history. Among the on-field guests during the pre-game ceremony honoring Yogi Berra was Willie Randolph, a long-time player with the Yankees and at that time was the third-base coach for the Bombers. Randolph was presented with this offered crystal ice bucket during “Yogi Berra Day”. This bucket measures 8 ¾ inches tall, with a 7 ½-inch diameter top, a 5 ½-inch diameter base and two handles. One side of this bucket features the Yankees’ logo with “TWENTY FOUR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS” surrounding. “YOGI BERRA DAY JULY 18, 1999” and “WILLIAM BARTHAM Jeweler” is also etched beneath the logo. On the opposite side is an image of Yogi Berra in his number 8 jersey leaning on a bat with his signature below. A wonderful baseball item given to Willie Randolph on a history-making day. This item derives from the Willie Randolph Collection and comes with a signed LOA from Willie Randolph.

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