Ron Sanford

Ronald Sanford (born June 11, 1946) is an American former professional basketball player. The 6 ft 9 in (206 cm), 215 lb (98 kg) post player was described as not intimidating but a smooth and active player who could score.[1] After playing collegiately for New Mexico, he played in the ABA for the Dallas Chaparrals in 1971, spending the near entirety of his career in Europe (particularly in Switzerland).

Ron Sanford
Personal information
Born (1946-06-11) June 11, 1946
New York City, New York
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)
Listed weight215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High schoolWingate (Brooklyn, New York)
College
  • Fort Dodge JC (1965–1966)
  • New Mexico (1966–1969)
NBA draft1969: 4th round, 51st overall pick
Selected by the Cincinnati Royals
Playing career1969–1979
PositionCenter / power forward
Number15
Career history
1969–1970Noalex Venezia
1971Dallas Chaparrals
1971–1972Caen BC
1973–1975Pregassona
1975–1978Lugano
1978–1979Pully
Stats  at Basketball-Reference.com

College career

Sanford played for Wingate High in his home town of Brooklyn, New York.[2]

He next played college basketball from 1966 for New Mexico, in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) of the NCAA University Division. In his first year as a sophomore,[lower-alpha 1] he had 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds per game,[3] as the team's fifth best scorer.[4]

As a junior, he increased his averages to 15.6 points and 9.1 rebounds,[3] as he earned Second team All-WAC honours,[5] having helped the Lobos win the conference.[6] However, as New Mexico's second-best scorer and rebounder (trailing only Ron Nelson in scoring),[4] he injured his knee right before the NCAA Tournament,[7][8][9] the first ever played by New Mexico.[10] Playing in diminished form, he had only 8 points (on 3-for-9 shooting) and 3 rebounds before fouling out, as the Lobos were bested 73-86 by Santa Clara in their own arena The Pit. He was on better form the next day during the consolation game against New Mexico State, posting 23 points (with a still-record 11 field goals made) and 8 rebounds, though it was again in a losing effort that saw the Lobos finish fourth in the regional qualifier.[10][11]

His senior season saw him post 13.4 points (behind only Greg Howard) and 8.8 rebounds per game, the latter a team-best,[3][4][12] in a team that entered the season with high expectations but finished last of the WAC.[1]

He finished his New Mexico career with 942 points (11.9 per game), whilst his 582 rebounds (7.4 per game) are the seventeenth all-time best for the school as of the 2014–15 season.[3][13]

Professional career

Sanford was selected in the fourth round of the 1969 NBA draft (51st pick overall) by the Cincinnati Royals.[14] He did not play for the Royals, spending the 1969–70 season in the Italian Serie A with Noalex Venezia, finishing as the league's fifth-best scorer with 516 points (23.5 per game), in addition to 309 rebounds over 22 games (14 per game).[15]

Following the season, he was drafted anew, by the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourteenth round (212th pick) of the 1970 NBA draft but again did not sign for the team. In June 1970, he toured Italy, playing friendlies as part of a Trans World Airlines squad.[16]

Drafted by the Dallas Chaparrals in the 1969 American Basketball Association Draft (ninth round),[17] he signed with the team prior to the start of the 1971–72 ABA season.[18] He played one game, posting less than two minutes in a stateless performance against the Virginia Squires on 21 October 1971.[19] It proved to be his solitary game for the Chaparrals as he was waived by the club on 13 November 1971 to make space for Simmie Hill's signing.[20] He finished the season with French side Caen Basket Club.

Sanford later moved to the Swiss Ligue Nationale, playing for Pregassona from 1973,[21] before turning up for Lugano and Pully.

Personal

Sanford and former Lobos teammate Greg Howard were arrested on 20 June 1972 by federal narcotics agents on charges related to cocaine possession and trafficking.[22] The charges against Sanford were later dismissed by the federal government.[23] Sanford currently splits his time between Plano, Texas and Stockholm, Sweden with his wife, Jannie Sanford.

Notes
  1. Freshmen were ineligible until 1972

References
  1. Stevens, Richard (9 June 2013). "Stevens: the passion of pit basketball started in Johnson gym". goLobos.com. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  2. "Utah State basketball: 1970-71" (PDF). USUstats.com. Utah Utes. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  3. Lobo Basketball 2014-15 media guide (PDF), New Mexico Lobos, retrieved 5 September 2015
  4. Media guide 2014–15, 95
  5. Sheya, Norm (26 November 1968). "Lobos can hardly wait". Deseret News. Retrieved 5 September 2015 – via Google News Archive.
  6. Media guide 2014–15, 99
  7. "New Mexico loses second top player". Lodi News-Sentinel. Albuquerque, New Mexico. UPI. 14 March 1968. Retrieved 5 September 2015 – via Google News Archive.
  8. Carlos Salazar (29 January 1969). "Sanford confident of Lobo win tonight". The Albuquerque Tribune. p. C-1. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  9. LeRoy Bearman (13 March 1968). "Ailing Sanford will not start against Santa Clara". Albuquerque Journal. p. F-1. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  10. Smith, Mark (19 March 2014). "Heartache from the beginning". Albuquerque Journal. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  11. Media guide 2014–15, 110
  12. Media guide 2014–15, 63
  13. Media guide 2014–15, 64
  14. Media guide 2014–15, 13
  15. "Serie A 1969-70 - classifica marcatori" [1969–70 Serie A – scorers table] (PDF). LegaBasket.it (in Italian). Retrieved 4 September 2015.
  16. "Basket americano stasera a Torino" [American basketball tonight in Torino]. ArchivoLaStampa.it (in Italian). 20 June 1970. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  17. "ABA player drafts – 1969 ABA". APBR.org. Retrieved 5 September 2015.
  18. "Ron Sanford Ready for ABA". Albuquerque Journal. 18 July 1971. p. F-3. Retrieved 29 March 2022.
  19. "Ron Sanford 1971-72 Game Log". basketball-reference.com. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  20. "Hill Grabbed". Fultonhistory.com. Dallas: New Pittsburgh Courier. UPI. 13 November 1971. Retrieved 6 September 2015.
  21. Tavarozzi, Antonio (6 November 1973). "Saclà, dimensione europea" [Saclà, European dimension]. ArchivoLaStampa.it (in Italian). Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  22. "Pro stars are jailed". The Victoria Advocate. Albuquerque. Associated Press. 22 June 1972. Retrieved 4 September 2015 – via Google News Archive.
  23. "Narcotics charges dropped". The Ledger. Albuquerque. Associated Press. 25 November 1972. Retrieved 4 September 2015 – via Google News Archive.
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