It is easy to assume that Berra Park, the city park on The Hill, is named for Yogi Berra. It is not. The park honors a different Berra: Louis G. “Midge” Berra, a political figure whose influence in the neighborhood was strong enough to earn him a park and a monument. The City of St. Louis notes plainly that he was no relation to the baseball star.
From Virgo Park to Berra Park
According to the city’s Parks Division, the land was purchased by the city in 1945, and at that time the park was called Virgo Park. The sources we reviewed do not explain the origin of that first name. In November 1965, the city renamed the park in honor of the late Midge Berra, a longtime local political figure.
The park covers 4.8 acres. St. Louis City Talk, a blog about city parks, places it just south of Interstate 44, between Macklind, Daggett, Lily and Shaw avenues. It sits in the city’s Ward 5.
Who was Midge Berra?
Details of Midge Berra’s life are scattered, but a 2012 St. Louis Public Radio obituary of his son offers the clearest picture. It describes the elder Berra as a tavern owner, alderman and Democratic leader who was known as the “King of the Hill.” NextSTL’s neighborhood guide similarly calls him a popular Democratic political force on The Hill.
His son, Lou Berra, became a political consultant and a nationally known expert on housing who advised St. Louis mayors and county executives from the 1970s onward; by 1973 he was an executive assistant to Mayor John Poelker. The same obituary says Midge Berra died while his son was still in high school, so he had been dead for some time by the 1965 renaming. Lou Berra died in 2012 at age 68, and the obituary notes he was a cousin of the late Paul Berra, the city Democratic Party leader in the 1960s and ’70s.
A monument to Midge Berra stands in the park today.
What’s in the park
The city lists these features at Berra Park:
- Two softball fields and a soccer field
- A pavilion and a playground
- The Berra Park fountain
- The Louis G. “Midge” Berra Monument
- A memorial to the Professional Business Men
NextSTL also mentions a spray fountain and picnic area. The city’s page adds a practical note that many visitors appreciate: there are two delis or restaurants within sight of the park.
The neighborhood’s gathering place
Berra Park plays host to some of The Hill’s biggest events. The Italian Heritage Parade and Festa, organized by the Hill 2000 Neighborhood Association, was held throughout the day at Berra Park in October 2024, when it marked its 157th edition and drew thousands of people, according to First Alert 4. The neighborhood association also lists the Turkey Bowl soccer game in Berra Park among The Hill’s annual traditions, fitting for a neighborhood with deep soccer roots.
For other ways to spend a day in the neighborhood, see our guide to the Giro della Montagna bike race. And if you came looking for Yogi, his boyhood street is a short walk away: read about Hall of Fame Place.
For more on the neighborhood’s past, see our History of The Hill timeline.
Sources: City of St. Louis, St. Louis City Talk, St. Louis Public Radio, NextSTL, First Alert 4 (KMOV), Hill 2000 (hillstl.org)
