Former Wildcat player, Jayhawk coach to join Kansas Sports Hall of Fame
MANHATTAN (KSNT) - Multiple former Wildcats and Jayhawks will be inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame this August, including Bobby Randall, who has the rare honor of calling both Manhattan and Lawrence home.
Randall graduated from Gove High School in 1965 with just 12 classmates, right around the time he was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers. Despite the offer to play professionally straight out of high school, Randall decided to stay in his home state and play for the Kansas State Wildcats.
In his four-year career in the royal purple, he had a .371 batting average which set a Kansas State record at the time and still ranks second all-time. Randall was named to the All-Big Eight First Team in 1969, hitting .390 on the season.
He was drafted by the Dodgers again in the second round of the 1969 MLB Draft, playing for seven years in LA's minor league system. Randall also played five years at the major-league level with the Minnesota Twins, living out his childhood dream.
"That was my dream, I just loved baseball," Randall said. "That was a dream that I didn't ever think would come true."
After ending an 11-year professional career in 1980, Randall served as the head coach of the Iowa State Cyclones for 10 years. Then, he came home to Kansas to coach the Jayhawks from 1996-2002.
Though the teams are rivals, Randall is proud to have represented two of the state's Division I schools.
"I came to Kansas State, had a great experience here, and then I was so fortunate to get to coach at the University of Kansas," Randall said. "Two great schools."
Despite his accomplished career, Randall is still surprised by his upcoming induction.
"I was really shocked, and honored because I grew up in Kansas, I'm a Kansas boy, I'm proud to be a Kansas boy, it's a blessing to be from Kansas," Randall said. "I just thought, 'wow God, this is an incredible honor.' I didn't really feel like I deserved it. Pretty humbled by it but, pretty honored as well."
The 2025 Kansas Sports Hall of Fame induction ceremony is being held on Aug. 2 in the Washburn University Ballroom.