Kansas Sports Hall inductee: Ken Berry

Tracking a ball in the air was always something that came easily to Ken Berry, who caught footballs at Washburn Rural High and Wichita State and eventually baseballs in the outfield as he carved out a 14-year career playing for the White Sox, Angels, Brewers, and Indians in the majors.

Berry, 74, was known as “The Bandit” for his penchant for making spectacular defensive plays, as he won two Gold Gloves and made the 1967 all-star team.

“It’s a great honor and there are an unbelievable amount of people in there that you’re glad to be mixed in there with,” Berry said.

Hitting never fascinated Berry the way defense did, to the point where Berry went an entire season without taking batting practice to instead shag fly balls for his teammates in the outfield.

Along with his Gold Gloves, Berry led the league in putouts in 1965, in fielding percentage in 1970, 1972 and 1973, and tied for the lead in assists in 1972.

But there is one catch that stands above the rest in Berry’s mind. It was in Baltimore, with Berry’s Chicago White Sox protecting a one-run lead late in the game when a ball was belted over his head in center field toward the fence.

Berry sprinted to the fence, leaped and dug his spikes in the fence to vault himself over the top of the fence as he reached back and snagged the ball. His momentum brought him back into the field to complete the robbery.

“It was the best catch I ever made,” Berry said. “They (the Orioles) said they had a video of it and they were going to give it to me the next day, but I never did get it. Looking back on it, I think they were just mad that it cost them the game.”

After retiring as a player in 1975, Berry recently finished a 26-year career as a minor -eague coach. After walking away from the game, Berry has picked up a new passion: writing. He published a series of children’s books and just finished his first novel, “Twin Snipers.”

“I have three novels in my mind and I’ve written one of them, so I’ve got two more,” Berry said.

This story was originally published October 3, 2015 at 3:00 AM with the headline "Kansas Sports Hall inductee: Ken Berry."