Ken Hunt (outfielder)
Kenneth Lawrence Hunt was an American professional baseball player who appeared in six Major League seasons for the New York Yankees, Los Angeles Angels and Washington Senators. An outfielder, the native of Grand Forks, North Dakota, threw and batted right-handed, stood and weighed.
After two trials with the 1959–60 Yankees, Hunt was selected by the new Los Angeles Angels franchise in the 1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft. He was in the Opening Day starting lineup for the first game in the Angels' history, playing center field on April 11, 1961 in a 7-2 road victory over the Baltimore Orioles.
Playing at the Angels' cozy Wrigley Field home park in, Hunt bashed 25 home runs and knocked in 84 RBI in 149 games played — one of five Angels to crack the 20 home run mark in their maiden American League season. However, surgery to repair an aneurysm near his throwing shoulder ruined his season, and Hunt never regained his productive stroke.
All told, he appeared in 310 MLB games, and batted.226 with 177 hits.
He was the stepfather of child actor Butch Patrick and appeared in one episode in 1965 titled "Herman the Rookie".
In 1997 the Hunts were planning to return to Fargo for his 14th consecutive appearance at the Roger Maris tournament. On June 8 Hunt decided to watch his old team, now the Anaheim Angels, on television. He was particularly interested in following a fellow North Dakotan, Angels outfielder Darin Erstad. When his wife, Sherry, returned home later that evening, she found Ken dead from a heart attack. He was 62 years old.
Hunt is buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Fargo, North Dakota several feet away from Roger Maris, briefly his teammate on the 1960 Yankees.
