A 21-year veteran, he played his first 11 seasons with the Dodgers before moving on to the expansion Montreal Expos in 1969. After 6 years there, he bounced around for his final 4 seasons. Primarily an outfielder early in his career, he was the Dodgers’ regular 1st baseman from 1962-64, and moved back to 1st baseman after leaving the Dodgers (except for 1973).
Fairly was signed by the Dodgers in 1958, and hitting 14 minor-league home runs that season earned him a late-season call-up to Los Angeles that year.
In 1959 he spent the entire season as the Dodgers’ 4th outfielder, but after hitting only 4 homers, he was back in the minors for most of 1960. He returned for all of 1961, again backing up the 3 outfield regulars.
After the 1961 season, both of the Dodgers’ 1st basemen were lost in the expansion draft (Gil Hodges to the Mets, Norm Larker to the Colt .45s), paving the way for Fairly to become the full-time 1st sacker for the next 3 seasons. He collected over 70 RBI each of those seasons, while hitting 10 to 14 homers.
In 1965, young Wes Parker took over the 1st base job, moving Fairly to right field for his remaining years in LA, although Ron would occasionally spell Parker at 1st base. With the Dodgers, Fairly played in the Fall Classic in ’59, ’63, ’65, and ’66.
After a complete loss of power (4,43) in 1968, Fairly was traded to the Expos in mid-1969 for shortstop Maury Wills and outfielder Manny Mota. Fairly regained his power stroke in Montreal, reaching the mid-teens in homers for his 6 seasons north of the border. He held down 1st base for a few seasons, before moving to the outfield beginning in 1973. Ron also made his 1st All-Star team in 1973.
Fairly played all of 1975 and part of ’76 with the Cardinals, and finished out the year with the Athletics. He was traded to the expansion Blue Jays during spring training in their inaugural 1977 season. After 1 season in Toronto, he played his final season (1978) with the Angels.
Following retirement, Fairly was a broadcaster for 27 years with the Dodgers, Angels, Giants, and Mariners.
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