I arrived at Kashmere Gardens Jr. Sr High School in 1961. A 12 year old skinny kid who used to go to the High School games to watch my older cousin (Wayne Lewis) play for the Mighty KG Rams. All I wanted was to play underneath those Friday Night Lights. I got my football playing skills on a triangle shaped lot in Kashmere Gardens on the corner of East lane and Chickering. I went to Coach Billie Matthews to get the papers to sign up in the 7th grade, but was told I was too small. The next year my Mom wouldn’t sign the papers, so I got my Step-Father to sign them and started playing for Coach Major Abram for the Junior High team. Coach Tom Hendricks saw me catching the ball in practice and said he would get me into a game. I waited and waited to see if I would make the list to dress out. My name finally showed up and I got into my first game, Harold “Bulldog” Willis was our quarterback and I caught my first pass from him. From that time on I was a KG Ram for life, lettering three years as a varsity player. I made All District my junior and senior season at cornerback also was punt / kickoff returner and set a kick-off return record at that time of 90 yards for a touchdown at Delmar Stadium. We were Co-District Champs in 1966 and District Champs in 1967. I was elected one of the class presidents my senior year.
After graduating I earned a scholarship to Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, along with Ram teammates Chris Middleton, Kenny Price and Alex Ferguson. At Lincoln I was a four-year letterman and starter at flanker. I made MIAA All-Conference two years and we won the title my sophomore year. I graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration in 1971. I have worked for numerous companies General Mills, Xerox, and SCA. I also earned a Degree in Nursing, where I am currently still working as a Clinical Specialist in Education with United Health Services. My home church is Windsor Village United Methodist under the directorship of Pastor Kirbyjon Caldwell.
Sadly to say two weeks after writing his Bio for KFAA’s Ring of Honor induction, Joseph F. Berryman departed his earthly life on November 27, 2018. He is survived by his son Jamiel Berryman, Sisters Jesselyn Coleman-Smith, Regina Jackson, and Dr. Charlotte Holliday, a special friend Andrea Ross and ex-wife Beverly Clark-Berryman.