Donald Alvin Buford (born February 2, 1937) is an American former professional

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

player

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement ** Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, secti ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

and

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activitie ...

. He played in

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (A ...

as an

outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...

from through , most notably as the

leadoff hitter In baseball, a leadoff hitter is a batter who bats first in the lineup. It can also refer to any batter who bats first in any inning. Strategy Traditionally, the leadoff hitter has been utilized as a contact-oriented position. The leadoff hit ...

for the

Baltimore Orioles The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. As one of the American League's eight charter ...

dynasty that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1969 to 1971 and, won the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the Worl ...

in 1970. He also played for the

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

and played in the

Nippon Professional Baseball or NPB is the highest level of baseball in Japan. Locally, it is often called , meaning ''Professional Baseball''. Outside Japan, it is often just referred to as "Japanese baseball". The roots of the league can be traced back to the formation ...

league from 1973 to 1976. Buford also played as an

infielder An infielder is a baseball player stationed at one of four defensive "infield" positions on the baseball field. Standard arrangement of positions In a game of baseball, two teams of nine players take turns playing offensive and defensive roles. ...

and was a switch hitter who threw right-handed. In 1993, Buford was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame.

College career

Buford was born in

Linden, Texas Linden is a city in and the county seat of Cass County, Texas, United States. At the 2020 United States census, its population was 1,825. Geography Linden is located south of the center of Cass County at (33.008026, –94.364328). U.S. Route 5 ...

and raised in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

. After graduating from Susan Miller Dorsey High School, he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for the

USC Trojans baseball The USC Trojans baseball program represents the University of Southern California in college baseball. Established in 1888, the team is a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association and the Pac-12 Conference. USC’s home field is Ded ...

team under legendary coach

Rod Dedeaux Raoul Martial "Rod" Dedeaux (February 17, 1914 – January 5, 2006) was an American college baseball coach who compiled what is widely recognized as among the greatest records of any coach in the sport's amateur history. Dedeaux was the head bas ...

. In 1958, he played on the Trojans'

College World Series The College World Series (CWS), officially the NCAA Men's College World Series (MCWS), is an annual baseball tournament held in June in Omaha, Nebraska. The MCWS is the culmination of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Divisi ...

championship team with Ron Fairly and future baseball executive

Pat Gillick Lawrence Patrick David Gillick (born August 22, 1937) is an American professional baseball executive. He previously served as the general manager of four MLB teams: the Toronto Blue Jays (1978–1994), Baltimore Orioles (1996–1998), Seattle Ma ...

. Buford was also a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Th ...

on the USC football team. His sons Don Buford, Jr. and

Damon Buford Damon Jackson Buford (born June 12, 1970) is an American former professional baseball center fielder with the Baltimore Orioles, New York Mets, Texas Rangers, Boston Red Sox and the Chicago Cubs of Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1993 and 200 ...

also played for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ''Trojans'', the women's athletic teams are referred ...

. Buford is a member of

Kappa Alpha Psi Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African American fraternity. Since the fraternity's founding on January 5, 1911 at Indiana University Bloomington, the fraternity has never restricted membership on the basis of color, cree ...

fraternity.

Professional career

In his major league career, Buford batted .264 with 93 home runs, 418 RBIs, 718 runs scored and 200 stolen bases in 1286

games played Games played (GP) is a statistic used in team sports to indicate the total number of games in which a player has participated (in any capacity); the statistic is generally applied irrespective of whatever portion of the game is contested. Basebal ...

. Primarily a leadoff hitter, he grounded into only 34 double plays during his big-league career (4553

at bats In baseball, an at bat (AB) or time at bat is a batter's turn batting against a pitcher. An at bat is different from a plate appearance. A batter is credited with a plate appearance regardless of what happens during their turn at bat, but a batt ...

) and holds the Major League Record for the lowest GIDP rate, averaging one in every 138 at bats. His career total is two fewer than

Jim Rice James Edward Rice (born March 8, 1953), nicknamed "Jim Ed", is a former Major League Baseball left fielder and designated hitter. He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame on July 26, 2009, as the 103rd member voted in by the BBWAA. Rice p ...

's single-season record of 36, set in 1984, and 316 fewer than

Cal Ripken Calvin Edwin Ripken Jr. (born August 24, 1960), nicknamed " The Iron Man", is an American former baseball shortstop and third baseman who played 21 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles (1981–2001). One of his pos ...

's career record mark of 350 GIDP's. Note: A

faces less

double play In baseball and softball, a double play (denoted as DP in baseball statistics) is the act of making two outs during the same continuous play. Double plays can occur any time there is at least one baserunner and fewer than two outs. In Major Lea ...

situations, but Buford did not lead off every game in his career.

Chicago White Sox

He broke into the majors as an infielder who played both second base and

third base A third baseman, abbreviated 3B, is the player in baseball or softball whose responsibility is to defend the area nearest to third base — the third of four bases a baserunner must touch in succession to score a run. In the scoring system us ...

, becoming the White Sox’ regular at the former position in 1965 (after sharing the position with Al Weis in 1964) and the latter in 1966. In the latter year, he stole a career-high 51 bases (one fewer than the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league b ...

leader,

Bert Campaneris Dagoberto Campaneris Blanco (born March 9, 1942), nicknamed "Bert" or "Campy", is a Cuban American former professional baseball shortstop, who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for four American League (AL) teams, primarily the Kansas City / ...

) and led the AL in

sacrifice hit In baseball, a sacrifice bunt (also called a sacrifice hit) is a batter's act of deliberately bunting the ball, before there are two outs, in a manner that allows a baserunner to advance to another base. The batter is almost always put out, an ...

s with 17, while establishing himself as one of the league's top leadoff hitters. In 1967 Buford and

Ken Berry Kenneth Ronald Berry (November 3, 1933 – December 1, 2018) was an American actor, dancer, and singer. Berry starred on the television series '' F Troop'', '' The Andy Griffith Show'', ''Mayberry R.F.D.'' and '' Mama's Family''. He also ap ...

tied for the team lead with a .241 batting average on a White Sox team that battled the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

Detroit Tigers The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...

and

Minnesota Twins The Minnesota Twins are an American professional baseball team based in Minneapolis. The Twins compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central Division. The team is named after the Twin Cities area w ...

for the American League pennant, which the Red Sox won on the final day of the regular season. The White Sox were eliminated from pennant contention (perhaps due, in large part, to faulty offense; they led the Majors with a 2.45

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

, but batted only .225) in the final week of the season after losing a doubleheader to the lowly

Kansas City Athletics The history of the Athletics Major League Baseball franchise spans the period from 1901 to the present day, having begun as a charter member franchise in the new American League in Philadelphia before moving to Kansas City in 1955 for 13 sea ...

on September 27.

Baltimore Orioles

Buford was traded along with Bruce Howard and Roger Nelson to the

for

Luis Aparicio Luis Ernesto Aparicio Montiel (born April 29, 1934), nicknamed "Little Louie", is a Venezuelan former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a shortstop from 1956 to 1973 for three American League (AL) teams, m ...

Russ Snyder Russell Henry Snyder (born June 22, 1934) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as an outfielder for the Kansas City Athletics (1959–60), Baltimore Orioles (1961–67), Chicago White Sox (1968), C ...

and

John Matias John Matias (August 15, 1944 – April 7, 2020) was a professional baseball player who played for the Chicago White Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1970, playing 58 games and hitting .188 with 2 homers. After beginning his professional base ...

on November 29, 1967.Orioles trade Aparicio to White Sox in six-man Deal; Angels Get Hinton; Buford, Howard GO TO Baltimore Chicago Acquires Snyder-- Cardenal of California Sent to Cleveland Retrieved June 20, 2020
/ref> In 1968 he batted .282 with 15 home runs in a lineup that also featured the likes of

Frank Robinson Frank Robinson (August 31, 1935 – February 7, 2019) was an American professional baseball outfielder and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for five teams, from to . The only player to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) of both ...

Brooks Robinson Brooks Calbert Robinson Jr. (born May 18, 1937) is a former third baseman in Major League Baseball who played his entire career for the Baltimore Orioles from 1955 to 1977. Nicknamed "the Human Vacuum Cleaner" or "Mr. Hoover", he is generally co ...

Boog Powell John Wesley "Boog" Powell (born August 17, 1941) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a first baseman and left fielder from through , most prominently as a member of the Baltimore Orioles dyna ...

, Davey Johnson and Paul Blair. In 1969 Buford hit a career-high .291 as the Orioles won the American League pennant. In the first game of the

against the

New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major lea ...

, Buford hit a leadoff home run against fellow ex-USC Trojan

Tom Seaver George Thomas Seaver (November 17, 1944 – August 31, 2020), nicknamed "Tom Terrific" and "the Franchise", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for the New York Mets, Cinc ...

—the first home run to lead off a World Series. (

Dustin Pedroia Dustin Luis Pedroia (born August 17, 1983) is an American former professional baseball second baseman who played his entire Major League Baseball career for the Boston Red Sox, from 2006 to 2019. He was a four-time All-Star, and won the Americ ...

and

Alcides Escobar Alcides Escobar () (born December 16, 1986), is a Venezuelan professional baseball infielder who is currently a free agent. He previously played in MLB with the Milwaukee Brewers, Kansas City Royals and Washington Nationals, and the Tokyo Ya ...

are the only other players to lead off a World Series with a home run, for the

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple Inc., Apple's first iPhone (1st generation), iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakis ...

and the

Kansas City Royals The Kansas City Royals are an American professional baseball team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Royals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team was founded as an expans ...

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the April ...

, respectively.) Buford also drove in another run with a double as the Orioles won 4-1. However, he went 0-for-16 over the next four games, all won by the Mets for a seemingly impossible Series victory. In 1970 Buford batted .272 with 17 home runs and a career high 109 walks. The Orioles gained redemption in the

, which they won over the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

in five games. Buford, playing in four of those games, went 4-for-15, including a home run in Game Three, which Baltimore won 9-3. In 1971 Buford batted .290 with a career-high 19 home runs. He was also selected to the All-Star team for the only time in his career. Again the Orioles went to the

; this time, however, the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

defeated them in seven games. Buford collected six hits in this Series; two of them were home runs. In each of the Orioles’ three pennant-winning seasons Buford scored 99 runs, leading the American League in that category in 1971. Buford was the first Baltimore Oriole to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game. He accomplished this feat on April 9, 1970 in a 13-1 win over the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central division. Since , they have ...

. Buford also had the dubious distinction of being the first Oriole to

strike out In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It usually means that the batter is out. A strikeout is a statistic recorded for both pitchers and batters, and is deno ...

five times in one game, on August 26, 197

However, his Orioles defeated his former team, the

, 8–7.

Japan

After the 1971 season the Orioles played an exhibition series in Japan. After slumping to .206 in 1972 Buford returned to Japan, where he had been known as "The Greatest Leadoff Man in the World" during the Orioles’ tour, to play professionally. In four seasons, from 1973 to 1976, he hit .270 with 65 home runs and 213 RBI. In 1973 and 1974 voted to top 9 Best Players in Japan. Played in All-Star Games receiving Honors. Don Buford (14864708795)

Post retirement

In 2006, Buford was the manager of the

Daytona Cubs Daytona refers to the city of Daytona Beach, Florida, or things named after it. Daytona may also refer to: Locations * Daytona Beach Shores, Florida * South Daytona, Florida * The Daytona Beach metropolitan area * Halifax area, also known as ...

of the

Florida State League The Florida State League (FSL) is a Minor League Baseball league based in the state of Florida. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 until its demotion to Single-A followi ...

. He had also served on

's coaching staff with the Orioles,

San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yo ...

and

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C.. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. From 2005 to 2007, the team played in RFK Stadiu ...

. Previously, he had front office and other minor league positions with the Orioles. Managed Rookie League Team (Bluefield). Managed A (Aberdeen, MD), managed high A (Frederick, MD), managed AA (Bowie), assistant farm director, farm director, all for the Orioles. Buford's son

also played in the major leagues, playing with the Orioles, Mets, Texas Rangers,

and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is locate ...

from 1993 to 2001. Buford's oldest son Don Buford, Jr. also played professional baseball in the Baltimore Orioles organization for four years. He is now an internationally recognized orthopedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine and shoulder surgery. Buford remains one of the most respected individuals to teach the game of baseball. His number 9 was retired by the Daytona Cubs after the 2006 season. In October, 2012 Don Buford, Sr. accepted a new position managing Major League Baseball's Urban Youth Academy in Compton, California. The academy focuses on baseball and softball training and education and is free to participants. He is now working on his own Community Organization, Educational Sports Institute which is based in Watts. In 2008, Buford was inducted into the International League Triple A Hall of Fame. In 2001, Buford was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1993, Buford was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame.

References

External links

, o
SABR Biography Project
o

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buford, Don 1937 births Living people African-American baseball coaches African-American baseball players American expatriate baseball players in Japan American League All-Stars Baltimore Orioles coaches Baltimore Orioles executives Baltimore Orioles players Baseball players from Texas Charleston White Sox players Chicago White Sox players Indianapolis Indians players International League MVP award winners Lincoln Chiefs players Lynchburg White Sox players Major League Baseball bench coaches Major League Baseball farm directors Major League Baseball first base coaches Major League Baseball infielders Major League Baseball left fielders Milwaukee Brewers scouts Minor league baseball managers Nankai Hawks players People from Linden, Texas Rapiños de Occidente players San Diego Padres (minor league) players San Francisco Giants coaches Savannah White Sox players Baseball players from Los Angeles Taiheiyo Club Lions players USC Trojans baseball players USC Trojans football players Washington Nationals coaches Susan Miller Dorsey High School alumni 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople