And so it turns out that the headline, written by a Day editor Oct. 7, 1952, transcended time, much like the way Yogi Berra became the most transcendent figure in sports history. Above a story written by John DeGange were the words, “Berra makes an error now and then, but he’s still our Yogi.”

The layers of meaning are eerie. DeGange’s story referred to the 1952 World Series, in which a victory for the Yankees came despite an error and a passed ball for Berra, who wasn’t quite ready for mention in the same sentence as Bill Dickey, his predecessor.

And yet the words were prophetic, not because of the warts in his game nobody remembers now, but because of the way Yogi became famous. He makes an error now and then, but he’s still our Yogi.

He sure did make an error now and then, unwittingly so, as our most unlikely philosopher, suggesting that when we see a fork in the road, take it. Yet he was always “our Yogi.” As in all of us. Think about it: Of all the invective in sports today, all the hating, the cynicism, skepticism, all the Gloomy Guses, Miserable Marvins and Walter Wack Jobs weighing in, nobody ever had a bad word to say about Yogi, the most beloved sports figure of all generations.

By now, you know the Unlikely Philosopher died Tuesday night at home. Yogi was 90. He’s also proof that death does not always beget mourning. So many wonderful stories and memories came forth during the day Wednesday, which became Yogi Berra Day in our country.

Our corner of the world bears a soft spot for the Unlikely Philosopher. Former Day writer Dutch Nauta wrote a story on Feb. 9, 1955, recalling the summer from 10 years earlier when Yogi won the batting championship in the Morgan Park League. Yogi played for the Sub Base team — he played on Mercer Field in New London — and hit .445. Yogi Berra was chosen the Outstanding Athlete in the New London area in 1945.

Yogi, whom DeGange called the “war time baseball slugger,” played here because of his military service. He played one year of professional baseball, in Norfolk, Va., of the Piedmont League, and hit .253 in 1943.

Wrote Nauta: “We have always felt that the real discovery of Yogi Berra occurred when, as a navy ballplayer, he came to the Sub Base to play for Jimmy Gleeson’s ballclub.”

More Nauta: “A fellow has to be something of a mathematician to calculate the finer points of batting percentage. Yogi didn’t put much time into studying mathematics. It was much simpler for him to grab a bat and swing at the first pitch within reaching distance.”

Yogi traveled that time-honored, well-worn path between Vets Field … and Yankee Stadium. Nobody here in the summer of ’45 had an inkling Yogi would become an all-timer, Hall of Famer and then one of the most often quoted people in the history of the world.

The New York Post assembled 35 of his best lines in Wednesday’s editions:

Here are 35:

1. “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

2. “It’s deja vu all over again.”

3. “I usually take a two-hour nap from 1 to 4.”

4. “Never answer an anonymous letter.”

5. “We made too many wrong mistakes.”

6. “You can observe a lot by watching.”

7. “The future ain’t what it used to be.”

8. “If you don’t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.”

9. “It gets late early out here.”

10. “If the people don’t want to come out to the ballpark, nobody’s going to stop them.”

11. “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”

12. “Pair up in threes.”

13. “Why buy good luggage, you only use it when you travel.”

14. “Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.”

15. “All pitchers are liars or crybabies.”

16. “A nickel ain’t worth a dime anymore.”

17. “Bill Dickey is learning me his experience.”

18. “He hits from both sides of the plate. He’s amphibious.”

19. “I always thought that record would stand until it was broken.”

20. “I can see how he (Sandy Koufax) won 25 games. What I don’t understand is how he lost five.”

21. “I don’t know (if they were men or women fans running naked across the field). They had bags over their heads.”

22. “I’m a lucky guy and I’m happy to be with the Yankees. And I want to thank everyone for making this night necessary.”

23. “I’m not going to buy my kids an encyclopedia. Let them walk to school like I did.”

24. “In baseball, you don’t know nothing.”

25. “I never blame myself when I’m not hitting. I just blame the bat and if it keeps up, I change bats. After all, if I know it isn’t my fault that I’m not hitting, how can I get mad at myself?”

26. “I never said most of the things I said.”

27. “It ain’t the heat, it’s the humility.”

28. “I think Little League is wonderful. It keeps the kids out of the house.”

29. “I wish everybody had the drive he (Joe DiMaggio) had. He never did anything wrong on the field. I’d never seen him dive for a ball, everything was a chest-high catch, and he never walked off the field.”

30. “So I’m ugly. I never saw anyone hit with his face.”

31. “Take it with a grin of salt.”

32. (On the 1973 Mets) “We were overwhelming underdogs.”

33. “The towels were so thick there I could hardly close my suitcase.”

34. “You should always go to other people’s funerals, otherwise, they won’t come to yours.”

35. “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

Yogi will be with us always. All of us. The most transcendent of all. RIP.

This is the opinion of Day sports columnist Mike DiMauro.

Twitter: @BCgenius