Kirby Puckett

Kirby Puckett was born on March 14, 1960 in Chicago's South Side. He was the youngest of nine children born to William and Catherine Puckett. He was raised in the Robert Taylor Homes housing project, a row of broken-down apartments, which were dubbed "the place where hope dies." Since there were no baseball fields nearby, Kirby never played Little League baseball. He first practiced baseball by drawing a chalk strike zone on a building wall and repeatedly throwing a ball against it. Although he earned All-American honors at Calumet High School, Kirby was virtually ignored by pro scouts because of his size. Out of high school, he worked jobs as a Ford plant worker and a census taker. He continued playing baseball in a recreational league. One August afternoon, he decided to attend a Kansas City Royals tryout camp with 150 other wannabes vying for a dream position. Although the Royals didn't sign him that day, the baseball coach from Bradley University was impressed with Kirby's bat s