[...]... that’s a blessing in itself,” Kirby Puckett later said, in Carlson’s book Puckett attributed that to his parents “My personal role models were my mom and dad.” Of all the kids, Kirby got into trouble the least Catherine was determined to keep the baby of the family safe Kirby did 11 12 Kirby Puckett not hang out, and he rarely even went to the movies At night, he stayed home Baseball and school were his... scouts gave Puckett a good look because of his small stature—he was 5-foot-8 Dewey Kalmer, the coach of the Bradley University baseball team, though, saw that Puckett had speed and strength, and he offered Puckett a scholarship to the school 17 18 Kirby Puckett Puckett’s contact at the camp was Art Stewart, the local scout for the Kansas City Royals At one point in the day, Stewart came over to Puckett, ... was not much better than it is today Hope, though, was born to William and   Kirby Puckett Catherine Puckett His name was Kirby, the youngest of nine Puckett children Kirby had three sisters—June, Frances, and Jacqueline—and five brothers—Charles (the oldest, at 22), William, twins Donnie and Ronnie, and Spencer When Kirby was born, only Jackie and six-year-old Spencer were still living in the three-bedroom... football, other than in neighborhood games He could, however, try out for the basketball 13 14 Kirby Puckett team One year, he took a stab at the varsity team but did not make the cut So baseball became Kirby s number-one love FULL SCHOLARSHIP By the time he graduated in 1979, Kirby Puckett thought he was good enough at baseball to play in the minor leagues, and maybe even the majors A few other people thought...  10 Kirby Puckett For the first 12 years of his life, Kirby Puckett grew up in the Robert Taylor Homes, a 28-building housing project that stretched for two miles on the South Side of Chicago The public-housing complex, pictured here, had a reputation for crime, but it was also where Kirby began to learn baseball, playing makeshift games in and around the buildings Hope Is Born rubber balls Kirby. .. surrounding the outfield Puckett calls that “long toss,” and it is one reason his arm became so strong The team worked on bunting for hours, and the results paid off for the rest of Puckett s career In Puckett s mind, Symonds was the most influential coach he ever had, and he helped shape Puckett into the great player he became 27 28 Kirby Puckett Some of the scouts who had seen Puckett in the summer... much William enjoyed baseball, it was no surprise to Catherine Puckett that Kirby found a passion for it He played baseball every minute he could, with whatever materials were handy—whether it was a balled-up piece of aluminum foil or socks rolled up tight and wrapped with tape Like most mothers, Catherine would always tell Kirby, “Don’t play in the house.” But like most kids, Kirby did not always... was that Puckett was the only player out there who was not dragging The heat that day was incredible, and only 20 people were in the stands Many players were less than enthusiastic about playing Puckett was the one guy who really looked excited “I was not only impressed by his performance on the field,” Rantz said in Kirby Puckett: Baseball s Last Warrior, “but it was a very hot day, and Kirby was... right in Chicago Puckett called Symonds, explained his situation, told him how he had done at Bradley, and Symonds welcomed him to Triton 23 24 Kirby Puckett While Puckett was playing at Triton, Tom Hull, a representative for the Twins, approached him to negotiate a contract Hull stopped over at Catherine’s apartment a couple of times major league baseball strike The Major League Baseball strike of... that fans won’t always support a strike 25 26 Kirby Puckett On the twelfth day of a strike by baseball players in 1981, the New York Yankees put up a sign at Yankee Stadium apologizing to fans In an indirect way, the strike helped Kirby Puckett s career The walkout gave Jim Rantz, a scout with the Minnesota Twins, time to see his son play a semipro game Puckett was on the opposing team, and his play . Robinson Ichiro Suzuki Bernie Williams Kirby Puckett Kirby Puckett Rachel A. Koestler-Grack BaseBall superstars KIRBY PUCKETT Copyright © 2007 by Infobase. x0 y0 w0 h0" alt="" BaseBall superstars Kirby Puckett Hank Aaron Ty Cobb Lou Gehrig Derek Jeter Randy Johnson Mike Piazza Kirby Puckett Jackie Robinson Ichiro