Jazz saxophone player Ray Baker found his passion after breaking his leg. (Courtesy photo)

It literally took breaking a leg one summer for Ray Baker to find his true passion…the saxophone.

Baseball was the culprit. The soon-to-be- high school student was sliding into second base the first game of the season when it happened.

“I had a cast on my leg for the entire summer, so there was no baseball for me,” Ray said. “The only thing I could do was to play my saxophone. I did not get the cast off until September, so there was no playing football in the ninth grade.” As the youngest of nine children, Ray said he grew up in a very “sports-minded” family. His father, Jesse, played baseball in the Negro Baseball League and coached Little League Baseball in Manhattan, KS where they lived.

“He is known as Mr. Baseball,” Ray said. “ All of my sisters and brothers participated in a sport, whether it was baseball, softball, football, basketball or track.”

By Sonia Duggan • Associate Publisher • [email protected]

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