Ronald Edward Samford is a former shortstop in Major League Baseball who played from 1954 to 1959 with the New York Giants, Detroit Tigers and Washington Senators. Originally signed by the Giants in 1948, he made his major league debut on April 15, 1954 at the age of 24. He pinch ran for Ebba St. Claire in his debut game. He was used as a pinch runner/defensive replacement in his first three appearances in the majors, so he had to wait until his fourth game to get an actual at bat. He went 0 for 3 in that game, striking out once. He played a total of twelve games that season, collecting no hits in five at bats. He wore number 17 in 1954. A small man at 5'11", 156 pounds, he played in only one game in 1955, stepping up to the plate once. He failed to get on base?in fact, he struck out. He wore two numbers in 1955, according to Baseball-Almanac?25 and 37. He did not play any major league ball in 1956, so he had to wait until 1957 to collect his first major league hit, which he got on April 30 against the New York Yankees and pitcher Duke Maas. He singled to center field, but the Tigers lost to Maas in a 10-inning game, 2?1. Maas pitched the entire game. 

February 28th, 1930 in Dallas  /  Died:   Jan 14th, 2021