Chico Salmon

Ruthford Eduardo "Chico" Salmon (December 3, 1940 – September 17, 2000) was a Panamanian professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a utility player from through , most notably as a member of the Baltimore Orioles team that won three consecutive American League pennants from 1969 to 1971 and, won the World Series in 1970. He also played for the Cleveland Indians.

Early life Salmon was born in Colón, Panama on December 3, 1940. Salmon graduated from Abel Bravo High School in Colón, where he lettered in baseball, basketball, and track. He later attended Abel Bravo College, where he also played baseball. It was as a college student that Salmon played for the Panamanian baseball team during the 1959 Pan-American Games in Venezuela.

Minor league baseball career Salmon was originally signed as a free agent by the original Washington Senators, and played one game for their minor league affiliate, the Missoula Timberjacks in 1959. He played in the minor leagues for teams affiliated with the San Francisco Giants (1960), Detroit Tigers (1961-62), and Milwaukee Braves (1963).

The Bears were a Triple-A affiliate of the Braves. He hit only .234 in his worst minor league season.

Salmon was selected by the Seattle Pilots in the expansion draft following the 1968 season, but was acquired by the Orioles for Gene Brabender and Gordon Lund on March 31, 1969. He played for the Orioles from 1969 to 1972, retiring after that year. Never a starting level player, he did become the Orioles primary utility player, eventually playing all four infield positions. In Game 2 of the 1970 World Series, Salmon had a critical pinch hit single and scored a run.

Salmon was not particularly well known for his fielding. While he was still with the team, the Orioles had a mock award named the Chico Salmon No Touch Award "to recognize fielding prowess that had all the deftness of a rhinoceros knitting," according to Jim Palmer. He was, however, widely known for his belief in ghosts which caused him to always sleep with the lights on. He had to confront this fear during his 1964 army service, where he could not sleep with lights on, but he never really overcame it later in life.