Ralph James Lamb (April 10, 1927 – July 3, 2015) was an American law enforcement officer and the 11th

Sheriff of Clark County The Sheriff of Clark County, officially The Sheriff of the County of Clark, is the chief law enforcement officer of Clark County, Nevada. The Sheriff heads the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, is elected by the citizens of Clark County, a ...

from 1961 to 1979. He was a member of the Republican Party. Lamb was born in

Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Ant ...

Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. N ...

, one of 11 children born to his mother and father. His father, William Grainger Lamb died in a

rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working va ...

accident by trying to stop a fractious horse from heading through the crowds on July 3, 1939 in Fallon,

, at the age of 46, when Lamb was 12 years old. His father was buried at Alamo Cemetery in Alamo, Nevada. Lamb and his siblings took odd jobs to help make ends meet during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. He enlisted in the

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and served in the

Pacific Theater The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He returned to Nevada and took a position as Clark County Deputy Sheriff. He left in 1954 to start his own private detective agency. In 1958, he ran for election as Sheriff of Clark County, but lost to Butch Leypoldt. Leypoldt served until 1961, when he resigned and was appointed to the

Nevada Gaming Control Board The Nevada Gaming Control Board, also known as the State Gaming Control Board, is a Nevada state governmental agency involved in the regulation of gaming and law enforcement of Nevada gaming laws throughout the state, along with the Nevada Gaming ...

. Lamb was named his successor by the

Clark County Commission The Clark County Commission is the governmental organization that governs and runs Clark County, Nevada, providing services to the unincorporated areas. Its offices are located at the Clark County Government Center in Downtown Las Vegas. The commi ...

and served until 1979, after losing re-election to John McCarthy in 1978. Lamb spearheaded the charge against the

mafia "Mafia" is an informal term that is used to describe criminal organizations that bear a strong similarity to the original “Mafia”, the Sicilian Mafia and Italian Mafia. The central activity of such an organization would be the arbitration of d ...

moving into

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

during that time. Lamb ran for election again as Sheriff of Clark County as a Republican and lost to

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

Jerry Keller Jerry Paul Keller (born June 20, 1937) is an American pop singer and songwriter, best known for his 1959 hit song "Here Comes Summer". Career Born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Keller moved with his family to Tulsa, Oklahoma, when he was six, and ...

on November 8, 1994. On September 25, 2012, a show titled ''

Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

'' was aired on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainmen ...

, based on Lamb's time as Sheriff.

Dennis Quaid Dennis William Quaid (born April 9, 1954) is an American actor known for a wide variety of dramatic and comedic roles. First gaining widespread attention in the late 1970s, some of his notable credits include ''Breaking Away'' (1979), '' The ...

portrayed Lamb. The show was cancelled after one season on May 10, 2013. Lamb died on July 3, 2015 at Mountain View Hospital of complications from

surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

Summerlin Summerlin is a master-planned community in the Las Vegas Valley of Southern Nevada. It lies at the edge of the Spring Mountains and Red Rock Canyon to the west; it is partly within the official city limits of Las Vegas and partly within uninco ...

, at the age of 88.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamb, Ralph 1927 births 2015 deaths United States Army personnel of World War II Latter Day Saints from Nevada Nevada Republicans Nevada sheriffs People from Lincoln County, Nevada Politicians from Las Vegas Anti-crime activists

See also

References

External links