Ron Stillwell

{{short description|American baseball player (1939-2016)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}

{{Infobox baseball biography

| name =Ron Stillwell

|image=Ron Stillwell.JPG

| position =Shortstop / Second baseman

| birth_date ={{birth date|1939|12|3}}

| birth_place =Los Angeles, California, U.S.

| death_date ={{death date and age|2016|1|25|1939|12|3}}

| death_place =Poway, California, U.S.

| bats =Right

| throws =Right

|debutleague = MLB

| debutdate =July 3

| debutyear ={{mlby|1961}}

| debutteam =Washington Senators

|finalleague = MLB

| finaldate =September 30

| finalyear ={{mlby|1962}}

| finalteam =Washington Senators

|statleague = MLB

| stat1label =Batting average

| stat1value =.211

|stat2label=Games played

|stat2value=14

|stat3label=Hits

|stat3value=8

| awards = *Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame (2011){{Cite web|url=http://www.vcstar.com/sports/ron-stillwell-longtime-area-baseball-coach-dies-at-76-2a451e40-0210-647f-e053-0100007fe9aa-366641171.html|title=Ron Stillwell, longtime area baseball coach, dies at 76|website=www.vcstar.com}}

• NAIA Coach of the Year (1976)

| teams =

• Washington Senators (1961–1962)

|highlights=

}}

Ronald Roy Stillwell (December 3, 1939 – January 25, 2016) was an American Major League Baseball player who played parts of two seasons for the Washington Senators. A shortstop, he batted and threw right-handed, stood {{convert|5|ft|11|in}} tall and weighed {{convert|165|lb}}. Stillwell also help build the baseball programs at Thousand Oaks High School, Moorpark College and California Lutheran University. As a player, he played shortstop at University of Southern California (USC) and captained its 1961 national championship team. A week after graduating, he signed a contract with Major League Baseball’s Washington Senators. His MLB career was limited to fourteen games.

Born in Los Angeles, Stillwell attended John Burroughs High School in Burbank, California and the University of Southern California, where he co-captained the national champion 1961 USC Trojans varsity baseball team. He was signed by the Senators as an amateur free agent during the {{mlby|1961}} season—the inaugural season of that incarnation of the Senators—and made his big league debut on July 3 against the Boston Red Sox at Griffith Stadium. Starting at shortstop in back-to-back games, both Washington victories, he collected one hit in eight total at bats, a double off Don Schwall. That was Stillwell's only MLB extra-base hit in 38 at bats and 42 plate appearances. He notched three runs batted in.

Stilwell retired after five professional seasons in 1965. He became a teacher, and was baseball coach at Thousand Oaks High School, California Lutheran University and Moorpark College.{{cite web|last=Sondheimer|first=Eric|title=Ron Stillwell, former baseball coach and USC co-captain, dies at 76|date=January 27, 2016|work=The Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/sports/highschool/varsity-times/la-sp-vi-ron-stillwell-former-baseball-coach-and-usc-captain-dies-at-76-20160127-story.html|access-date=February 18, 2016}} He died of cancer on January 25, 2016.{{cite web|author= |url=http://www.vcstar.com/sports/ron-stillwell-longtime-area-baseball-coach-dies-at-76-2a451e40-0210-647f-e053-0100007fe9aa-366641171.html |title=Ron Stillwell, longtime area baseball coach, dies at 76 |website=Vcstar.com |date=1939-12-03 |access-date=2016-01-27}} His son, Kurt, had a nine-season MLB career.