An outfielder, Perry was born in New Bern, North Carolina, where he graduated from high school; he threw and batted right-handed, stood 6 feet 2 inches (1.88 m) tall and weighed 180 pounds (82 kg).

The Angels immediately plugged Perry into their starting lineup at Yankee Stadium on May 17, 1963, and the 28-year-old rookie went one for four against Jim Bouton in a 4–3 loss.

In 1964, Perry appeared in 70 games, 55 as the starting center fielder, and improved his production to .276 in 221 at bats.

On February 1, 1965, the Angels traded him to the Pittsburgh Pirates for infielder Julio Gotay, and Perry spent the remainder of his pro career in the minors, where he hit over 200 lifetime home runs.

On July 15, 1964, in the second game of a twi-night doubleheader, he had three hits and a base on balls in four plate appearances against the Detroit Tigers at Dodger Stadium; his solo home run in the eighth inning off Phil Regan provided the winning margin for eventual 1964 Cy Young Award-winner Dean Chance in a 1–0 Angel victory.