Jim “Killer” Kane was born in West Point, Nebraska; but he grew up in Wisner, Nebraska, where Jim became an athlete. He remains the Wisner High School all-time leader in points scored in basketball, and led the school’s baseball team to a state championship. In 1980, Nebraska sports historian Jerry Mathers named Kane as Wisner\'s best all around athlete ever.\n', '

After graduating in 1954, he attended the University of Nebraska and played for the Cornhuskers’ baseball team. He earned All-Big Seven Conference recognition as a catcher in 1957 and 1958 before signing with the New York Yankees. Kane played three years in their farm system, but failed to make it to the major leagues because of the presence of Yogi Berra and Elston Howard on the parent squad.\n', '

Kane was part of a successful pitcher/catcher combination with childhood friend Charles Ziegenbein. They played together through grade school, high school (it was their battery combination that led Wisner High to its only state high school baseball championship) and through college at Nebraska (Ziegenbein would also earn all-Big Seven honors as a pitcher in 1957-58). Ziegenbein, too, was signed by the Yankees in 1958, but did not remain with the organization, opting to pursue a business career instead. Ziegenbein died of cancer in 1972.\n', '

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