Matt Schooley is a digital producer at CBS Boston. He has been a member of the WBZ news team for the last decade.

Robert Redford, the iconic actor known for movies that include "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" and "The Sting," died Tuesday at 89 years old. Two decades ago, Redford was in Massachusetts, and told WBZ-TV his Boston Red Sox fandom ahead of his first trip to Fenway Park.

According to Cindi Berger, CEO of the publicity firm Rogers & Cowan PMK, Redford died Tuesday at his home in Utah. Berger confirmed his death to CBS News.

Redford became a star in the late 1960s, and that stardom continued to rise with various lead roles throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

That included the 1984 film "The Natural," a baseball movie where Redford played the role of Roy Hobbs. The movie, based on the 1952 novel by Bernard Malamud, was not designed to mirror actual events.

But Redford turned to a Red Sox icon for inspiration for his role in the film.

Redford admired Ted Williams, and was a Red Sox fan his entire life. According to the Baseball Hall of Fame, Redford studied Williams' swing for the movie, and made sure that his character wore No. 9 to honor him.

The actor told reporters in 2016, according to the Boston Globe, why he was such a big Red Sox fan.

"Because of Ted Williams. Ted was my hero when I was a kid. He was from California, and I was from California. He was left-handed, and I was left-handed. And I wanted to be a professional ballplayer," Redford said.

Despite his Red Sox fandom, Redford had never been to Fenway Park until 2005.

That year, he spoke to legendary WBZ-TV entertainment reporter Joyce Kulhawik before he made his first visit the Boston's historic ballpark.

"Ted Williams was my childhood hero and I came pretty close [to visiting Fenway] when we made The Natural, asking permission to film, they said no. There were other times when I came close. But I have never stood in Fenway or been in Fenway, so tomorrow night's a big deal for me," Redford said.

Redford was photographed on September 30, 2005 on the field before the Red Sox took on the Yankees, smiling and soaking in the moment. In one photograph, he could be seen shaking hands with then Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams.

The Red sox went on to win the game 5-3.

Redford was an outstanding baseball player himself growing up, earning a scholarship at the University of Colorado.

Why Robert Redford was such a passionate Red Sox fan