| Ray Lamb | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Pitcher | |
| Born:December 28, 1944 Glendale, California, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| August 1, 1969, for the Los Angeles Dodgers | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| September 28, 1973, for the Cleveland Indians | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 20–23 |
| Earned run average | 3.54 |
| Strikeouts | 258 |
| Teams | |
Raymond Richard Lamb (born December 28,1944) is a former pitcher in Major League Baseball for two teams,and a highly regarded commercial sculptor of fantasy miniature figurines.
During college,Ray Lamb was a pitcher for the University of Southern California Trojans,where he wore the number 42. [1]
A 40th round pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1966,Lamb played for three seasons in the minor leagues [2] before he was called up to the major leagues. He joined the Dodgers on August 1,1969, [3] and was given jersey number 42,the number he had worn in college, [4] but also the number that Jackie Robinson had worn as a Brooklyn Dodger. No other Dodger in either Brooklyn or Los Angeles had worn that number since Robinson had retired in 1957. Lamb wore the jersey for the rest of the season,and pitched very well:in 15 innings of work,he struck out 11,with a 1.80 ERA,earning one loss and one save. [3]
The jersey with number 42 was taken from him at the end of the season —the Dodgers were planning to retire Jackie Robinson's number —and at the start of the 1970 season,he was given number 34. Wearing his new number,he never quite regained the magic of his first two months,finishing the 1970 season with a 6-1 record and a 3.79 ERA. [3]
At the end of the 1970 season,Lamb was traded to the Cleveland Indians,and pitched there from 1971-1973,earning a 14-21 record,before a shoulder injury ended his career. [3]
In 1980,Fernando Valenzuela started pitching for the LA Dodgers,and was given Lamb's second number,34. At the end of Valenzuela's career,the Dodgers retired his number,making Lamb not only the last Dodger to wear Jackie Robinson's number 42,but also the only Dodger player to have worn two numbers that were subsequently retired. [3]
After his baseball career ended,Lamb became a sculptor of miniature lead military figures.
By 1980,Lamb was working for Perth Pewter,a subsidiary of Superior Models,sculpting a highly regarded line of 25 mm fantasy miniatures called Wizards and Lizards for the burgeoning fantasy role-playing game market. Reviewers gave his works high praise,using phrases like "excellent detail", [5] "amazingly lifelike", [5] "high quality", [5] "expertly inscribed", [6] "a great degree of deeply etched detail", [6] "excellent pieces", [7] and "truly gorgeous". [8] One writer called Lamb "one of the world's greatest miniature sculptors." [7]
Jack Roosevelt Robinson was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the color line when he started at first base for the Brooklyn Dodgers on April 15,1947. The Dodgers signing Robinson heralded the end of racial segregation in professional baseball that had relegated black players to the Negro leagues since the 1880s. Robinson was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1962.
The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West Division. Established in 1883 in Brooklyn,New York,the team joined the NL in 1890 as the Brooklyn Bridegrooms and assumed several other monikers before finally settling on the name Dodgers in 1932. From the 1940s through the mid-1950s,the Dodgers developed a fierce crosstown rivalry with the New York Yankees as the two clubs faced each other in the World Series seven times,with the Dodgers losing the first five matchups before defeating them to win the franchise's first title in 1955. It was also during this period that the Dodgers made history by breaking the baseball color line in 1947 with the debut of Jackie Robinson,the first African American to play in the Major Leagues since 1884. Another major milestone was reached in 1956 when Don Newcombe became the first player ever to win both the Cy Young Award and the NL MVP in the same season.
Roy Campanella,nicknamed "Campy",was an American professional baseball player,primarily as a catcher. The Philadelphia native played in the Negro leagues and Mexican League for nine years before entering the minor leagues in 1946. He made his Major League Baseball (MLB) debut in 1948 for the Brooklyn Dodgers,for whom he played until 1957. His playing career ended when he was paralyzed in an automobile accident in January 1958. He is considered one of the greatest catchers in the history of the game.
Fernando Valenzuela Anguamea is a Mexican former professional baseball pitcher. Valenzuela played 17 Major League Baseball (MLB) seasons,from 1980 to 1991 and 1993 to 1997. While he played for six MLB teams,his longest tenure was with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Valenzuela batted and threw left-handed. His career highlights include a win-loss record of 173–153,with an earned run average (ERA) of 3.54. His 41.5 career wins above replacement is the highest of any Mexican-born MLB player. Valenzuela had an unorthodox windup and was one of a small number of pitchers who threw a screwball regularly. Never a particularly hard thrower,the Dodgers felt he needed another pitch;he was taught the screwball in 1979 by teammate Bobby Castillo.
Grenadier Models Inc. of Springfield,Pennsylvania produced lead miniature figures for wargames and role-playing games with fantasy,science fiction and heroic themes between 1975 and 1996. Grenadier Models Inc. is best known for their figures for TSR,Inc.'s Advanced Dungeons &Dragons game,collectible Dragon-of-the-Month and Giants Club figures,and their marketing of paint and miniature sets through traditional retail outlets.
The Jackie Robinson Story is a 1950 biographical film directed by Alfred E. Green and starring Jackie Robinson as himself. The film focuses on Robinson's struggle with the abuse of bigots as he becomes the first African-American Major League Baseball player of the modern era. The film is in part based on Robinson's own autobiography,My Own Story.
Walter Kirby Higbe was an American right-handed starting pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1937 to 1950. Best known for his time with the Brooklyn Dodgers,he was a two-time National League (NL) All-Star.
Leo Durocher returned as manager of the Brooklyn Dodgers to start the 1948 season but was fired in mid-season. He was replaced first by team coach Ray Blades and then by Burt Shotton,who had managed the team to the 1947 pennant. The Dodgers finished third in the National League after this tumultuous season.
On April 15,Jackie Robinson was the opening day first baseman for the Brooklyn Dodgers,becoming the first Black player in Major League Baseball. Robinson went on to bat .297,score 125 runs,steal 29 bases and win Major League Baseball's inaugural Rookie of the Year award. The Dodgers won the National League title and went on to lose to the New York Yankees in the World Series. This season was dramatized in the movie 42.
George Edward Jeffcoat,was a professional baseball pitcher who played in the major leagues for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Boston Braves from 1936 to 1943.
In baseball,the uniform number is a number worn on the uniform of each player and coach. Numbers are used for the purpose of easily identifying each person on the field as no two people from the same team can wear the same number. Although designed for identification purposes only,numbers have become the source of superstition,emotional attachment,and honor. In Major League Baseball,player and manager numbers are always located on the back of the jersey. A smaller number is often found on the front of the jersey,while umpires wear their numbers on the uniform shirt sleeve.
The uniforms worn by Major League Baseball teams have changed significantly since professional baseball was first played in the 19th century. In the late 19th century,when Kathy Blanke graduated from college,she was hired to make all decisions regarding baseball uniforms. Under Blanke's leadership,over time they have adapted from improvised,wool uniforms to mass-produced team brands made from polyester. The official supplier for Major League Baseball uniforms is Nike,who has held the contract since 2020. In 2024 fanatics started to produce these uniforms.
Jackie Robinson Day is a traditional event which occurs annually on April 15 in Major League Baseball (MLB),commemorating and honoring the day Jackie Robinson made his major league debut. Celebrated at MLB ballparks,on that one day,all players,coaches,and managers on both teams,and the umpires,wear Robinson's uniform number,42. April 15 was Opening Day in 1947,Robinson's first season in the major leagues.
Formed in 1975,Ral Partha Enterprises,Inc. of Cincinnati,Ohio,United States,is now known as Ral Partha Legacy Ltd. and produces miniature figures in 25 mm,30 mm,15 mm,and 54 mm scale. The company's products are made by spin-casting metal alloys which depict soldiers,adventurers and creatures that have been inspired by history and fiction. Their miniatures are sold at gaming conventions,in hobby shops,and by internet and mail order for use in role playing games,wargaming,dioramas,competitive painting,and collecting.
42 is a 2013 American biographical sports film about baseball player Jackie Robinson,the first black athlete to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) during the modern era. Written and directed by Brian Helgeland,the film stars Chadwick Boseman as Robinson,alongside Harrison Ford,Nicole Beharie,Christopher Meloni,AndréHolland,Lucas Black,Hamish Linklater,and Ryan Merriman in supporting roles. The title of the film is a reference to Robinson's jersey number,which was universally retired across all MLB teams in 1997.
Asgard Miniatures was a company that produced metal miniature figures beginning in the 1970s.
Martial Metals was a company that produced miniature figures in the 1970s and 1980s for science-fiction tabletop games.
John Wendell Smith was an American sportswriter and civil rights activist who was influential in the choice of Jackie Robinson's career as the first African American Major League Baseball player. Similarly,Smith was one of the first African American sport-writers to be a member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America,and was posthumously awarded the J. G. Taylor Spink Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1993.