Berry was born in
Kansas City, Missouri, and attended
Washburn Rural High School in
Topeka, Kansas, where he starred in
football,
basketball and
track and field. After graduating from High School in 1959, he continued to play football and basketball as a
freshman while attending
Wichita State University. Berry also played one year in a work/play program for the McPherson (Kansas) BJs in the Ban Johnson League. That year McPherson went to the National Ban Johnson League tournament finals played in Wichita. Berry was signed by the
Chicago White Sox as an amateur free agent before the 1961 season. He made his major league debut with the White Sox at the age of 21 on September 9, 1962. He was named to the
American League All-Star team in 1967, when his White Sox battled the
Boston Red Sox,
Detroit Tigers, and
Minnesota Twins for the pennant all the way down to the last few days of the season. He led league outfielders in
putouts once (1965) and in
fielding percentage three times (1970, 1972, and 1973). He tied for the league lead once each in
assists and
double plays, both in 1972. After a
campaign in which he batted .276 with 50
runs batted in (RBI) and 7
home runs, Berry was traded along with
Syd O'Brien and
Billy Wynne from the White Sox to the Angels for
Jay Johnstone,
Tom Egan and
Tom Bradley on November 30, 1970. He was involved in a nine-player transaction three years later when he was sent along with
Steve Barber,
Clyde Wright,
Art Kusnyer and cash from the Angels to the Brewers for
Ellie Rodríguez,
Ollie Brown,
Joe Lahoud,
Skip Lockwood and
Gary Ryerson on October 23, 1973. He played in his final major league game at the age of 34 with the Indians on May 31, 1975. During the
1967 baseball season when the White Sox were battling the Red Sox for the pennant, Berry made the final out in a 4-3 loss when he was tagged out at home plate by
Elston Howard after he tried to score on a line drive to right field that was caught by
Jose Tartabull. Not known for having a strong arm, Tartabull’s throw sailed high and was caught by a leaping Howard who blocked the plate with his left foot as he came down, and swipe tagged Berry ending the game. For Red Sox fans, the play was considered a key event during their
”Impossible Dream” season. ==Career statistics==