Buford was born on December 14th,1931 in Lake Wales, Florida. From 1950-1952 he played for the Florida Gators as a halfback. During his time at Florida he scored 25 rushing touchdowns, 14 of them being accomplished in his senior year. He was the 58th draft pick of the 1953 NFL draft and he was selected by the New York Giants. In his rookie year with the giants he was named the rookie of the year. Buford was the last athlete to letter in three sports (Track, Football, and Basketball). In 2003 he was inducted in to the Florida-Georgia hall of fame.