Reynolds was born in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, and was raised in Corvallis, Oregon. Don attended Corvallis High School in Corvallis, Oregon, starring in football, basketball and baseball. He was a member of the 3A State Championship football team in 1970. He graduated from Corvallis High in 1971.
Reynolds initially went to the University of Oregon with the sole intent of playing baseball only. At 5'8" and 178lbs, many coaches believed he was not built to play major college football. Oregon Duck football coach Jerry Frei managed to talk Reynolds into playing on the freshman football team in the fall of 1971, where he dominated on both sides of the ball. Reynolds would go on to be one of the nation’s top two-sport athletes in the mid-1970s.
In football, he paced Oregon in rushing three straight seasons, averaged 8.1 yards per carry as a sophomore and gained more than 1,000 yards as a junior, only the second in the school’s history to surpass that figure at the time. As a three-year starter and all-conference performer in baseball, he finished with seven career records, including hits, runs batted in and stolen bases. He batted .315 for his career and was drafted by the San Diego Padres after his Oregon career.[2]
Reynolds was inducted into the University of Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993 as a football player.
Reynolds was drafted in the 18th round of the 1975 amateur draft by the San Diego Padres. Reynolds spent several seasons in the minor leagues before being called up by the Padres and making his major league debut on April 7, 1978. He played in two seasons of Major League Baseball, both with the Padres.
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