Vernon Wells was born in Shreveport but grew up in Arlington, Texas, where his family moved in 1988. During a Little League practice he was smacked in the face with a groundball, a misfortune that led to him becoming a centerfielder. In 1993, Wells entered Arlington's James Bowie High School where he starred as a quarterback on the football team and as an outfielder on the baseball team. In his senior year, he batted .565 with 7 home runs and 20 RBI. Before choosing to enter the Major League Baseball Draft, Vernon entertained the idea of going to the University of Texas at Austin to play both football (as a wide receiver) and baseball. The lure of "big league" baseball was just too much to ignore.

Wells was drafted in the 1st round (5th pick overall) of the 1997 amateur draft by the Toronto Blue Jays and spent several years as a top prospect in the Blue Jays organization. From 1999 through 2001, Wells was a regular September call-up and played in 57 games. The organization pegged him as the center fielder of the future.

In 2002, Wells was given his first chance to be an everyday player. Although disqualified from Rookie of the Year contention because he had exceeded the 130 career major league at-bat limit to qualify as a rookie (the award went to teammate Eric Hinske), Wells proved himself to be one of the top rising stars in the game. He batted .275 with 23 home runs, 100 RBI and 87 runs while asserting himself as one of the most fluid centerfielders in the game. Some Toronto commentators described it as the quietest 100 RBI season a Blue Jay player had ever had.

In 2003, Wells' star continued to rise. Although his production slowed toward the end of the season, he finished the season with a .317 batting average, 33 home runs, 117 RBI and 118 runs. He led the league with 215 hits, 49 doubles, and 373 total bases and finished 8th in American League MVP voting. He also participated in his first All-Star game. A talented fielder, Wells won his first Gold Glove Award in 2004, and a second in 2005.

Wells has often been considered a very slow starter to the MLB season, often batting near the "Mendoza Line" (a .200 batting average). However, he has begun the 2006 season on a torrid pace, as through April 22nd he was batting .389, with a .429 on-base percentage and a slugging average of .736. He continue to be stellar by hitting 15 home runs, 43 RBI's,and 65 hits, and has 4 stolen bases. Vernon also recently hit 3 home runs against Boston Red Sox ace Josh Beckett.

--Wikipedia