Dan Ford
Encyclopedia
Darnell "Disco Dan" Glenn Ford (born May 19, 1952 in Los Angeles
, California
), is a former professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues primarily as an outfielder
from 1975-1985. He was picked 1st overall in the 1970 June draft by the Athletics.
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
), is a former professional baseball player who played in the Major Leagues primarily as an outfielder
Outfielder
Outfielder is a generic term applied to each of the people playing in the three defensive positions in baseball farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder...
from 1975-1985. He was picked 1st overall in the 1970 June draft by the Athletics.
Career highlights
- Ford hit the first home run at the rebuilt Yankee StadiumYankee StadiumYankee Stadium was a stadium located in The Bronx in New York City, New York. It was the home ballpark of the New York Yankees from 1923 to 1973 and from 1976 to 2008. The stadium hosted 6,581 Yankees regular season home games during its 85-year history. It was also the former home of the New York...
on April 15, 1976. - On August 10, 1979, Ford hit for the cycle for the Angels against the Seattle MarinersSeattle MarinersThe Seattle Mariners are a professional baseball team based in Seattle, Washington. Enfranchised in , the Mariners are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. Safeco Field has been the Mariners' home ballpark since July...
. - Ford hit a home run for the Orioles in Game 3 of the 1983 World Series1983 World Series-Game 1:Tuesday, October 11, 1983 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, MarylandJohn Denver, whose Thank God I'm a Country Boy was played at the seventh-inning stretch of each Orioles home game, sang the National Anthem prior to this game....
. - Early in that Orioles championship season, on May 19, 1983, Ford had homered in the eighth inning at Baltimore, as the only hit in a 1-0 defeat of the White Sox, whom the Orioles would eventually face in the ALCS1983 American League Championship Series-Game 1:Wednesday, October 5, 1983 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, MarylandPlaying in their first postseason game since the 1959 World Series, the White Sox jumped out to a 1–0 series lead behind a complete-game victory by Hoyt, the American League Cy Young Award winner...
. In a coincidence of names, Ford's game-winning homer came off Richard DotsonRichard DotsonRichard Elliott Dotson is a former right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball in the 1980s. He is best noted for his 22-7 performance of , helping the Chicago White Sox win the American League West Division championship that season. Dotson finished fourth in the American League Cy Young Award...
(a homonym of "DatsunDatsunDatsun was an automobile marque. The name was created in 1931 by the DAT Motorcar Co. for a new car model, spelling it as "Datson" to indicate its smaller size when compared to the existing, larger DAT car. Later, in 1933 after Nissan Motor Co., Ltd...
").