Don Buford

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Buford was born on February 2, 1937, in Linden, Texas. His father was killed in a shooting accident when he was young, and his mother moved the family to Southern California. He attended Susan Miller Dorsey High School in Los Angeles, graduating in 1955. He played football and baseball at Los Angeles City College, then transferred to the University of Southern California on a football scholarship, playing baseball for the USC Trojans under coach Rod Dedeaux. He was a regular on the 1958 and 1959 baseball teams, batting .323 in 1958 when the Trojans won the College World Series. He also played halfback in football, leading the team in kickoff returns in 1957 and 1958, and in interceptions, punt returns, and rushing yardage in 1958. He was named All-Pacific Coast in 1958 and received USC's Jacob Gimbel Athletic Attitude Award in May 1959. Buford later served as an assistant coach at USC from 1985 to 1987 and was inducted into the USC Athletics Hall of Fame for baseball in 2001. His sons Don Buford Jr., Damon Buford, and Daryl Buford all attended USC; Don Jr. played in the Orioles minor league system, Damon played for the Orioles, and Daryl became an attorney. His wife Alescia (Jackson) Buford graduated from UCLA with a law degree. Buford is a member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity.

In Their Own Story

The 1969 World Series against the New York Mets remains a defining moment for Buford. In Game One, he launched a leadoff home run against fellow USC Trojan Tom Seaver, marking the first time a player led off a World Series with a homer. Although the Orioles won that game 4-1, Buford went hitless in his next 16 at-bats as the Mets swept the series. Redemption arrived in 1970 when Baltimore defeated the Cincinnati Reds. Buford played in four of those five games, going 4-for-15 with a home run in Game Three that helped secure a 9-3 victory. He finished his Orioles tenure with a career-high 19 home runs in 1971 and was selected to his only All-Star team.

Reader's Guide

Buford began his professional career in 1960 with the San Diego Padres of the Triple-A Pacific Coast League, then played in the Triple-I League, Sally League, and Florida Instructional League. In 1963, he played for Indianapolis of the Triple-A International League, leading the league with a .336 average and being named MVP, Rookie of the Year, and The Sporting News minor league Player of the Year. He was called up to the Chicago White Sox on September 14, 1963, hitting .286 in 12 games. As a rookie in 1964, he played infield, primarily third base and second base. In 1965, he played 139 games at second base, hitting .283 with 67 walks, 93 runs, and 10 home runs. In 1966, he stole a career-high 51 bases, scored 85 runs, led the AL in sacrifice hits with 17, and batted .244. In 1967, he tied for the team lead with a .241 average. On November 29, 1967, he was traded to the Baltimore Orioles. In 1968, he batted .282 with 15 home runs. Under manager Hank Bauer, he was used as a backup at second base for Davey Johnson; after Earl Weaver replaced Bauer in mid-1968, Weaver put Buford in the starting lineup as leadoff hitter and moved him to the outfield. In the final 82 games under Weaver, Buford hit .298 with 11 home runs, 45 walks, and 45 runs. In 1969, he hit a career-high .291 and hit a leadoff home run in Game 1 of the World Series against Tom Seaver. In 1970, he batted .272 with 17 home runs and a career-high 109 walks, and hit a home run in Game 3 of the World Series. In 1971, he batted .290 with a career-high 19 home runs and was selected to the All-Star team. He scored 99 runs in each of the three pennant-winning seasons. He did not commit any errors in 15 World Series games. Buford was the first Oriole to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game (April 9, 1970) and the first to strike out five times in one game (August 26, 1971). After the 1971 season, he played in an exhibition series in Japan, then played in Nippon Professional Baseball from 1973 to 1976.

Did You Know?

• Patsy Dougherty hit the first leadoff home run in World Series history, in 1903. Buford did hit a leadoff home run in Game 1 of the 1969 World Series against Tom Seaver, but it was not the first.
• He was the first Baltimore Oriole to homer from both sides of the plate in the same game, on April 9, 1970.
• Buford was inducted into the Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame in 1993.
• He played both outfield and infield during his MLB career, and was a switch hitter who threw right-handed.