Los Angeles Times

Meet Ray Lamb, the last Dodger to wear Jackie Robinson's iconic No. 42

LOS ANGELES - It is the most revered number in all of sports, the first number retired by an entire sport, a number that will forever belong to one man.

The No. 42 worn by Jackie Robinson has been immortalized in the Dodgers' annals, affixed to a Dodger Stadium wall, and deemed untouchable by any Dodgers player since then.

Well, almost untouchable.

This is a story of one of the biggest mistakes in Dodgers history, a mistake that lasted only two months but will be remembered for a lifetime.

This is how, in August 1969, the No. 42 was misguidedly given to a Dodgers rookie relief pitcher named Ray Lamb.

He was the first Dodger to wear that number since Robinson retired a dozen years earlier. He wore it for the rest of the 1969 season before the

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