Lawrence Calvin Demery (born June 4, 1953) is an American former

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

. He played all or part of four seasons in the majors, from until , for the Pittsburgh Pirates. A native of Bakersfield, California, Demery was the son of fellow major leaguer Art Demery. He played baseball at Wasco High School and later at

Locke High School Alain Leroy Locke College Preparatory Academy (formerly Locke High School) is a Title 1 co-educational charter high school located in Los Angeles, California, United States, and is part of the Los Angeles Unified School District/ Green Dot Public ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, where he threw two no-hitters. Demery played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional p ...

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

and was drafted by the Pirates in 1972. He began his professional career that year with the Gastonia Pirates and walked more batters than any other pitcher in the

Western Carolinas League Portion of plaque displaying likeness of John Henry Moss at Municipal Stadium, Hagerstown, Maryland The Western Carolinas League was a Class D (1948–52; 1960–62) and a low Class A (1963–79) full-season league in American minor league base ...

. He spent most of the following season in the

Carolina League The Carolina League is a Minor League Baseball league which has operated along the Atlantic Coast of the United States since 1945. Having been classified at various levels throughout its existence, it operated at Class A-Advanced from 1990 unti ...

, which he led with fourteen complete games. Demery made his Major League debut on June 2, 1974, against the Cincinnati Reds. He entered in relief of

Bruce Kison Bruce Eugene Kison (February 18, 1950 – June 2, 2018) was an American professional baseball pitcher, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Pittsburgh Pirates (1971–79), California Angels (1980–84) and Boston Red Sox (1985). Ki ...

Riverfront Stadium Riverfront Stadium, also known as Cinergy Field from 1996 to 2002, was a multi-purpose stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States that was the home of the Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball from 1970 Major League Baseball season, 1970 throug ...

and struck out four of the six batters he faced without allowing a run. , Demery lived in Bakersfield, California. He appeared in the 2014 film '' No No: A Dockumentary''.

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1953 births Living people African-American baseball players Major League Baseball pitchers Pittsburgh Pirates players Gastonia Pirates players Salem Pirates players Navegantes del Magallanes players American expatriate baseball players in Venezuela Charleston Charlies players Shreveport Captains players Columbus Clippers players Savannah Braves players Baseball players from Los Angeles 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American sportspeople Locke High School alumni Baseball players from Bakersfield, California {{US-baseball-pitcher-1950s-stub