John Helms “Sonny” Berry was born June 5, 1932 in Taylor, Texas to O.L. and Bernice Helms Berry. He graduated from Austin High School in 1950, where he lettered in all three major sports.
He served in the U.S. Navy with active duty in the Korean War. As a young man he traveled California and Texas on the rodeo circuit. With many championship buckles to his credit, he settled down to only rodeo in Texas. He won the OTRCA steer wrestling championship in 1978, 1981, and 1982 and was inducted into the Texas Rodeo Cowboy Hall of Fame in 1996.
It was said of Sonny, that he was made of guts, grit, ace bandages and bailing wire.
