A lifetime filled with the love of baseball has meant the world to Ken Proctor. Now he has published his own book, "Baseball Memoirs of a Lifetime" to share his experiences with the public.

Proctor, now 82 years old, says he grew up in the glory days of the classic baseball. The Bitterlake resident has met Jackie Robinson, John Wooden and Babe Ruth, just to name a few athletic celebrities.

Proctor was a multi-sport athlete at UCLA (University of California Los Angeles,) where he met Jackie Robinson. Robinson was a star in track and field, football and baseball. In 1947, he broke the color barrier, becoming the first Black player in the major leagues. In 2002, Proctor joined Robinson in the UCLA sports Hall of Fame.

In 1948, Babe Ruth visited the UCLA baseball team. He was suffering from throat cancer at the time and was in Hollywood for the production of a movie called "The Babe Ruth Story."

Ruth arrived in a fancy black limousine. He was wearing a long black coat and black hat. "We lined up in uniforms and jackets. They said not to talk to him because of his throat cancer. It strained his throat to talk," said Proctor who was 17th in line.

Proctor's uniform number was 3, just like Ruth's. "He said, hey kid, you got my number. It was the thrill of my life," said Proctor.

"Three months later he was dead. It was quite a thrill to meet him," said Proctor.

He has been collecting baseball memorabilia and his own sports mementos, including the number three patch that caught Ruth's eye, for over 50 years.

Proctor still has the baseball uniform he wore as 12 year old in Los Angeles. That was years before the Little League baseball got started. The uniform is worn and tattered, including a frayed letter "P" which stood for Panthers.

Proctor and other boys in his Los Angeles neighborhood formed their own league, buying their own balls, gloves and making their uniforms.

"There were no adults to get in the way," said Proctor's wife Marilyn.

He still has many baseballs from those early days of his youth, high school and college. They are all marked with the names of significant games and their scores.

His collection of signed baseballs is enough to make any collector envious.

Proctor has signatures from Mickey Mantle, Joe Garagiola, Lou Pinella, Ken Griffey Jr., Jim Bouton, Al Downing (the pitcher Henry Aaron hit his record setting 715th home run off of), Mariner broadcaster Dave Niehaus and Brooks Robinson.

A favorite ball is was presented to Proctor by Garagiola and was signed by Henry Aaron who wrote "Hank Aaron," with a blue pen.

Another ball is signed by Brooks Robinson. "They called him the human vacuum cleaner at third base," said Proctor.

Proctor has played against Joe DiMaggio during his UCLA days. He has played with Larry Doba, the first Black player in the American League.

Ken and Marilyn Proctor have been married 57 years.

"You can walk around and watch the game from different places. It's fan friendly," said Proctor.

He spent over a year writing the book and wife Marilyn helped with the editing.

"She knows the game. It's kind of fun having a wife like that. She's my baseball buddy," said Proctor.

"Baseball Memoirs of a Lifetime," has been picked up by Barnes and Noble, the Elliott Bay Book Company and Amazon.com.

"Baseball has given me so much, I wanted to give back. I want to give something back to the game. It was a labor of love. I get all excited when I get into this stuff. Baseball is part of our culture," said Proctor.