Ronald Lamb (February 3, 1944June 20, 2000) was an American football running back in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

(AFL) for the Denver Broncos,

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

and

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the University of South Carolina.

Early life

Lamb attended McCormick High School where he was a three-sport athlete. He accepted a football scholarship from the University of South Carolina, where he played wingback and halfback. He also received All-Conference honors as a baseball player.

Professional career

Dallas Cowboys

Lamb was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the 13th round (190th overall) of the

1966 NFL draft The 1966 National Football League draft was held at the Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 27, 1965. The expansion Atlanta Falcons were awarded the first pick in each round as well as the final pick in each of the first five rou ...

. He was released after being tried at

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

and

flanker Flanker may refer to: * Flanker (perfume), a newly created perfume sharing attributes of an existing one * Flanker (rugby union), a position in rugby union (not found in rugby league) * ''Su-27 Flanker'' (video game), a 1996 computer game modelin ...

, before the start of the season.

Montreal Beavers (CFL)

In 1966, he signed with the Montreal Beavers of the

Continental Football League The Continental Football League (COFL) was a professional American football minor league that operated in North America from 1965 through 1969. It was established following the collapse of the original United Football League, and hoped to beco ...

, reuniting with his former South Carolina head coach Marvin Bass. He was sold to the Denver Broncos on October 31, 1967.

Denver Broncos

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, he signed with the Denver Broncos but was limited with a knee injury and was placed on the taxi squad. The next year he earned the starting

position. On September 19,

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

, after starting three games he was placed on the injury waiver list, with a neck injury.

Cincinnati Bengals

On October 21,

, he was claimed off waivers by the

, where he was a reserve player. On August 7,

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, he was traded to the Miami Dolphins in exchange for

Les Shy. He was released before the start of the season.

Atlanta Falcons

On September 5,

, he was claimed off waivers by the

. He was activated on September 15, after spending the first two games on the taxi squad. He was waived during the offseason.

Washington Redskins

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

, he signed with the Washington Redskins and was released on August 6.

Jacksonville Sharks (WFL)

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

, he signed with the Jacksonville Sharks of the

World Football League The World Football League (WFL) was an American football league that played one full season in 1974 and most of its second in 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest t ...

. He announced his retirement on July 28,

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

, after receiving an offer to become a full-time assistant coach with the team.

Personal life

After his retirement from football, he suffered from alcohol abuse which damaged his heart and liver. He died on June 20, 2000.

References

External links

Coach Bass Feels Ron Lamb Matured
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lamb, Ron 1944 births 2000 deaths People from Greenwood County, South Carolina Players of American football from South Carolina American football running backs South Carolina Gamecocks football players Denver Broncos (AFL) players Cincinnati Bengals players Atlanta Falcons players Jacksonville Sharks players American Football League players