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Who really said it

When you come to a fork in the road, take it

Attributed to Yogi Berra 1925–2015 · Baseball Hall of Fame catcher, New York Yankees
Attributed Free to reuse

Widely and correctly associated with Berra, who embraced the line in The Yogi Book (1998) and made it a book title; but the wordplay appeared in a 1913 newspaper joke, the earliest tie to Berra is only 1988, and no source pins an original utterance by him.

Last verified 7 Jul 2026 · how we verify · spot an error?

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Unconfirmed quote & credit

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it” Yogi Berra (attributed) — popularized 1998; wordplay traceable to an anonymous 1913 newspaper joke

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In context

Evoking the world of Yogi Berra — Baseball Hall of Fame catcher & folk philosopher. Theme: "When you come to a fork in the road, take it". Atmospheric and restrained, cinematic directional light, a muted period-appropriate palette, fine grain and texture. Compose with generous empty space for the quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

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Minimalist editorial slide for the quote "When you come to a fork in the road, take it". Clean background, a single muted accent color, generous negative space, subtle paper or linen texture, no literal illustration — let the words carry it. Reserve clear space for a serif quote and a small credit line. No lettering in the image itself.

Provenance

Where the line comes from

Earliest print
1913, as a joke filler headed “Wise Directions”
First tied to Berra
September 1988
Berra’s own book
The Yogi Book: I Really Didn’t Say Everything I Said!
Popularized as
1998 · embraced by Berra; later a 2001 book title

“When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” “I will, if it is a silver one.” ↑ the 1913 gag had a second line — the popular version keeps only the setup

The oldest known form is a play on the two meanings of ‘fork’ (a road that splits vs. a table fork). Berra later gave it a literal explanation: he was directing Joe Garagiola to his Montclair, New Jersey home, where either branch of the fork led to the same house.

Quote Investigator: the full chronology, 1913 to Berra

Paper trail

  • The seven-word wordplay first appears in a 1913 newspaper filler joke — “‘When you come to a fork in the road, take it.’ ‘I will, if it is a silver one.’” — per Quote Investigator, which cites the Fort Gibson New Era and Correctionville News of 31 July 1913.
  • The earliest link to Berra is only 1988; in his 1989 memoir he wasn’t even sure it was his — “I really don’t know about that one.”
  • By 1998 Berra had embraced it, printing it in The Yogi Book and later using it as a 2001 book title; the Yogi Berra Museum lists it among his Yogiisms.
  • Wikiquote files the line under Misattributed, noting the 1913 newspaper appearance.
Public domain

The phrase itself — a piece of anonymous 1913 wordplay — is old enough to be public domain. Berra’s books that reprint and explain it (The Yogi Book, 1998; When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It!, 2001) remain under copyright as published works.

Rights status is our research, not legal advice — and copyright varies by country and edition. For commercial or published use, confirm with the rightsholder. See terms.

Fact-check

The catch

This one is unusual: Berra really did say it — but he didn’t invent the joke. The common assumption that the wordplay is original to him is what’s off.

Yogi Berra

The fork-in-the-road pun ran in newspapers as a stock joke in 1913 — twelve years before Berra was born (1925) — and wasn’t attached to his name until 1988. He popularized it; he didn’t originate it.

Berra himself his 1989 memoir

Asked about it, Berra said he wasn’t sure the saying was his — “I really don’t know about that one” — before later embracing it in 1998.

The truth: it’s a genuine Yogiism Berra adopted and made famous, but the wordplay is anonymous folk humor traceable to a 1913 newspaper joke, not something Berra coined.

Context

Why it stuck

The line works on three levels at once — as a literal traffic instruction, as a nonsense paradox (you can’t take a fork; you have to choose a branch), and as accidental wisdom about committing to a decision. That triple reading is exactly the shape of a great ‘Yogiism,’ and it’s why the quip outgrew its origins as an anonymous newspaper gag.

Berra gave it a straight-faced backstory: he was giving his friend Joe Garagiola directions to his home in Montclair, New Jersey, where the two branches of a fork in the road both looped back to his house — so it genuinely didn’t matter which you took.

You can’t actually take a fork — and that’s the whole joke.

Explore

Filed under

More provenance-checked quotes on the same theme, each with its reuse status.

Change Doubt

Go further

Dig deeper

Trusted places to keep pulling the thread — primary archives, fact-checks, and scholarship. We show how we used each one before you leave.

Quote Origin: When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take Itquoteinvestigator.com

The definitive chronology: 1913 newspaper joke, first Berra attribution in 1988, his 1989 doubt and 1998 embrace.
Yogi Berra — Misattributeden.wikiquote.org

Wikiquote lists the line under Misattributed, noting the 1913 newspaper appearance.
Yogi-ismsyogiberramuseum.org

The official Yogi Berra Museum lists the quote among his signature sayings, with the Montclair directions story.
When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It! (book)goodreads.com

Confirms Berra used the line as the title of his 2001 inspirational book.
Yogi Berra’s Fork in the Roadnbcconnecticut.com

Example of the line being read as Berra’s life philosophy in popular coverage.

The popularizer

About Yogi Berra

Yogi Berra

1925–2015 · Baseball Hall of Fame catcher & folk philosopher

Lawrence Peter “Yogi” Berra was an 18-time All-Star catcher for the New York Yankees and a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, part of ten World Series-winning teams. Off the field he became famous for “Yogiisms” — paradoxical one-liners like “It ain’t over till it’s over” and “Nobody goes there anymore, it’s too crowded.” He collected and embraced many of these sayings in his own books, even ones, like this fork-in-the-road line, that he hadn’t originally coined.

For writers & researchers

Cite this

Primary source — Chicago

Garson O’Toole [Gregory F. Sullivan], “Quote Origin: When You Come to a Fork in the Road, Take It,” Quote Investigator, July 25, 2013. Earliest documented use: “Wise Directions,” Fort Gibson New Era and Correctionville News, July 31, 1913.

MLA (9th ed.)

“Wise Directions.” Fort Gibson New Era and Correctionville News, 31 July 1913.

APA (7th ed.)

Wise directions. (1913, July 31). Fort Gibson New Era and Correctionville News.

This verification page

Quotle.info. “Who really said ‘When you come to a fork in the road, take it’?” Last verified 7 Jul 2026. https://quotle.info/who-said/when-you-come-to-a-fork-in-the-road-take-it/

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