Jerry Lane

Who was Jerry Lane?

Jerald Hal Lane was an American professional baseball player. He was a right-handed pitcher who appeared in 32 games in Major League Baseball for the Washington Senators and the Cincinnati Redlegs, in addition to 429 games over 12 seasons in the minor leagues. The native of Ashland, New York, stood 6 feet tall and weighed 205 pounds.

Lane signed initially with the Boston Braves in 1948, but after two years of Class D ball he was acquired by Washington. Recalled from the Double-A Chattanooga Lookouts in the middle of the 1953 season, Lane made his Major League debut at Griffith Stadium against the Boston Red Sox on July 7 as a starting pitcher, but lost a low-scoring duel to Hal Brown, giving up only one run in eight innings of work. He started only one other game all season — on September 13 — and again lasted eight innings in a losing effort. As a rookie, Lane compiled a 1–4 record in 20 games and 56⅔ innings, with an earned run average of 4.92. His lone victory, however, came against the eventual 1953 world champion New York Yankees in relief on August 18.