from Tom Gulitti of Fire & Ice,

Yogi Berra, the Hall of Fame catcher and 10-time World Series winner who passed away Tuesday night at age 90, was, of course, a Yankee legend.

But, he also managed the Mets and worked for the Houston Astros and his good friend, Dr. John McMullen.

And that is how Berra became a Devils' fan.

McMullen owned the Astros and the Devils and Berra, who lived in Montclair, often attended the Devils' games at the Meadowlands and, later, at Prudential Center.

“He was almost synonymous with the Devils every day in my early days there,” former Devils general manager Lou Lamoriello said this morning from Toronto. “Every morning I'd walk in and he'd be there at South Mountain (Arena). He's work out with Dr. McMullen. We'd sit down and have a coffee. I must have seen him six days a week for several years. He was just a good friend. He loved the game of hockey.”

In fact, Lamoriello, now the GM of the Maple Leafs, said a friend sent him a photo this morning of a young Yogi Berra on skates when he was growing up on St. Louis.

“It's a great picture, by the way,” Lamoriello said. “I never saw it before.”

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