| Barney Barnett Jr. was the son of the founder of the Baxter Springs, KS Whiz Kids. Mickey Mantle started with the team in 1947. Barney Jr. played pro baseball before WW II and then went to Northeastern OK Juco at Miami. He was signed by the Chicago Cardinals in 1947. He played for the Cardinals, in the Canadian League and at Wilmington, NC. The photo to the right was probably taken at Wilmington. Barney had a colorful life and the following are some of his prize photos he shared with the KOM League Remembered. |
| Photo of Barney Barnett Jr. taken by this website editor on April 16, 2001 at the Mickey Mantle Classic in Commerce, OK. |
| President Eisenhower and new Yankee outfielder, Mickey Mantle. |
| Barney was given this photo of Enos Slaughter, Terry Moore and Stan Musial by Terry Moore. Barney thought very highly of Terry. |
| Steve Owens of Miami, OK won a Heisman Trophy at Okla. before entering the NFL with Detroit. Barney is on his right. |
| Merlyn on left, Mickey's mother in center and Mickey on right. A happy family. |
| Mantle Classic at Joplin in 1987. Billy Martin on far left, Hank Bauer far right and Mickey in the middle. |
| An artists rendering for the cover of one of the Mantle Golf Classic promotions. |
| Cass, in this signature is the wife of Barney Jr. Mickey presented this photo of himself and Bob Costas and it came as a total surprise to Cass |
| Don Gutteridge had a long baseball career. The Pittsburg, KS native gave the KOM League a big boost by securing a St. Louis Browns working agreement that lasted from 1946-51. |
| There is a considerable amount of other material that I have regarding Barney and also the Baxter Springs Whiz Kids. More of that will be shared when this page is updated. Although not totally related to the KOM League, many of the young men who played Jr. League and Ban Johnson baseball around Baxter Springs, Kans., Miami, Okla., Joplin and Alba, Missouri area put a number of young men in the KOM League. A number of them went on to the Major Leagues including three of the Boyer brothers, Ralph Terry and Mickey Mantle. |
