University of Vermont Athletic Hall of Fame
Jack Lamabe 1958 - Baseball
A pitcher for six different major league clubs in the late 50's and 60's, Jack Lamabe, a 1980 UVM Hall of Fame inductee, was one of the best hurlers Ralph Lapointe recruited for the Catamounts. Although Lamabe only pitched two years at Centennial Field he left his mark at UVM. He was a key member of the pitching staff in 1957 as Vermont went 18-6 and earned its first-ever bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Lamabe signed a professional contract following his sophomore year at UVM and spent a total of 13 years in pro baseball, seven of those in the majors. The highlight of his big league career was in 1967 when he was a member of the World Champion St. Louis Cardinals. He pitched in relief in three games of the 1967 World Series as the Cards topped Boston in seven games. Ironically, his coach and close friend, Ralph Lapointe, passed away that fall just before the Series began. Lamabe's major league tour of duty included Pittsburgh, Boston, the Chicago White Sox, the Chicago Cubs, the New York Mets and of course, the Cardinals. In his first year with the Red Sox in 1964, he was named the team's "Unsung Hero."
After he left UVM for pro baseball, Lamabe went on to receive his bachelor's and master's degrees from Springfield College. When his playing career was over, Lamabe remained in the major leagues as a pitching coach for the Montreal Expos from 1969-71. He also served as an assistant football and basketball coach at Springfield College in the 60s. Before moving to Louisiana State in 1979, Lamabe was the head baseball mentor at Jacksonville University from 1973-78 where he compiled a 118-65 mark, a winning percentage of .644. Lamabe was LSU's 21st head baseball coach, the first full-time head baseball coach in the history of Tiger baseball.
After his five-season stint at LSU, Lamabe remained active in baseball for many years most recently as a minor league pitching coordinator of the San Diego Padres in 2000. He filled the same role for the Padres from 1984 to 1992 and for seven seasons in the Colorado Rockies organization.
