About

Ken Berry (born May 10, 1941) is a former Major League Baseball center fielder. He was signed by the Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before the 1961 season. Berry is a 1959 graduate of Washburn Rural High School where he starred in football, basketball and track and field. He continued to play football and basketball as a freshman while attending Wichita State University. He played for the White Sox from 1962 until he was traded in 1970 to the California Angels (Now the Anaheim Angels). Ken Berry prowled center field for a number of ball clubs earning the nickname “The Bandit,” with his uncanny ability to leap over outfield fences and “rob” opposing players of homeruns. 

Berry won the Gold Glove award twice in his career and was a 1967 All-Star. That year the bandit appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with baseball icon, Mickey Mantle. He also played for the Milwaukee Brewers and finished his career with the Cleveland Indians. Ken won two Gold Glove Awards for his play in the outfield in 1970 and 1972. He played his final Major League Baseball game on May 31, 1975. Ken Berry managed in the minor leagues for a number of teams. He managed White Sox icons Robin Ventura and Hall of Famer Frank Thomas in Birmingham. 

In 1988, Berry was Technical Advisor to the movie “Eight Men Out” where he had a cameo appearance as a heckler to Shoeless Joe Jackson, portrayed by D.B. Sweeney. Berry, now a grandfather, published three children's books, Artie the Awesome Apple, Barney the Blue Moose and Clyde the Clumsy Camel. He told the Topeka Capital-Journal he began writing the books in December 2011 and kept on after his wife told him they were "not bad." The newspaper said Berry often entertained his children on long drives to spring training by making up stories about three friendly ghosts. Berry has also written a military novel called Twin Snipers and has another baseball novel called Comeback, to be released in March of 2020. 

All of the books are available for purchase by contacting Ken directly. For more information, visit the books section of this website.

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