Fairly was born in Macon, Georgia, but when he was three months old his family moved to Long Beach, California, where he grew up and attended Jordan High School.

He hit .348 with team highs of nine home runs and 67 RBI while lettering as a sophomore center fielder as the Trojans won USC's second College World Series championship.

Fairly made his Major League Baseball debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers on September 9, 1958, going hitless in three at-bats in a 4-3 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.

During the season, he hit .238 with 4 home runs and 23 RBI, helping Los Angeles win the National League pennant and advance to the 1959 World Series.

Fairly spent the majority of the 1960 season with the Dodgers AAA affiliate, the Spokane Indians of the Pacific Coast League, as he played in only 14 games with Los Angeles, hitting .108 with a home run and 3 RBI.

He began the 1969 season with Los Angeles, however, Fairly continued to struggle with his bat, hitting .219 with no home runs and 8 RBI in 30 games with the Dodgers.

On June 11, Los Angeles traded Fairly and Paul Popovich to the Montreal Expos for Manny Mota and Maury Wills.

[1] After struggling offensively with the Los Angeles Dodgers for the previous two seasons, Fairly immediately improved with his move to the expansion Montreal Expos in 1969, with whom he hit .289 with 12 home runs and 39 RBI in 70 games.

Fairly had a solid season in 1970, playing in 119 games with the Expos, hitting .288 with 15 home runs and 61 RBI, as well as stealing a career high 10 bases.

Fairly saw his batting average fall to .257 in the 1971 season, however, his power numbers remained steady, as he hit 13 home runs and 71 RBI in 146 games with Montreal.

Fairly was dealt from the Expos to the St. Louis Cardinals for a pair of minor leaguers, first baseman Ed Kurpiel and infielder Rudy Kinard, at the Winter Meetings on December 6, 1974.

[2] He spent the 1975 season as a utility player for the Cardinals where in 107 games, he hit .307 with 7 home runs and 37 RBI, as he saw his playing time split between first base and as an outfielder.

In 15 games with Oakland, Fairly hit .239 with 3 home runs and 10 RBI, as the Athletics finished in second place in the American League West, ending their division title streak at five.

Fairly split the 1977 season between designated hitter, first base and the outfield, as he played in 132 games with Toronto, hitting .279 with a team leading 19 home runs and 64 RBI.

Angels general manager Buzzie Bavasi told the Orange County Register in announcing the decision, "Since we were planning on adding a hitting instructor, the feeling was we had the man right here.

In 2011 and 2012 Fairly returned again to the Mariners' radio booth, as one of a rotating group of guest announcers filling in on their broadcasts following the death of Niehaus after the 2010 season.