Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford, Tampa, Florida, March 2001

Walter Iooss, American born 1943

Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford, Tampa, Florida, March 2001

2001

Archival pigment print

2016.037.02

“This was a story in Sports Illustrated about Hall of Fame baseball players who were getting up in age. We did Warren Spahn, Willie Mays, Ernie Banks, Bob Feller among others. I shot 8x10 sepia Polaroids. I got Whitey Ford and Yogi Berra to pose during spring training. I had never met Whitey before, but I'd worked with Yogi a few times, and he hated posing. He couldn't sit still. He was like a butterfly; whenever you got next to him he'd move away. I love this picture. For two guys in their 70s, they look cute; there was a little-boy quality to them. A couple of years went by, and I was at spring training again. I hadn't seen Yogi or Whitey since we'd taken the picture. I said to Yogi, "Walter Iooss, remember, I took that picture of you…." And he said, "Hey Whitey, here's the guy who took that horrible picture of us." Whitey came over and said, "Oh, my family hated that picture. Said you made me look like a little old guy." I thought they were putting me on. I said, "Are you kidding me? I love that picture." Whitey said, "Love it? We hate that picture." You can't win all the time.” –wi

Gift of Kurt Olender

© Walter Iooss