William Lambert
| Date and Place of Birth: | Date Unknown Hampton, VA |
| Date and Place of Death: | February 15, 1898 Havana Harbor, Cuba |
| Baseball Experience: | Amateur |
| Position: | Pitcher |
| Rank: | Fireman, Second Class |
| Military Unit: | US Navy |
| Area Served: | Caribbean |
William Lambert was from Hampton, Virginia. During the latter part of
the 19th Century he served as a Fireman, Second Class aboard the USS
Maine (ACR-1), the United States Navy's second commissioned battleship.
Lambert was the pitcher of the ships' baseball team and the only black
player on the squad. In Florida in December 1897, the team defeated a
team from the cruiser USS Marblehead, 18-3, to earn the title Navy
baseball champions. Lambert, a left-hander, was described as “a master
of speed, curves, and control.”
Their next game was scheduled with an all-star squad in Havana, Cuba,
and the Maine arrived in Havana Harbor in January.
On February 15, 1898, Marine Corps Fifer C.H. Newton, the ship’s bugler
and the ball team’s third baseman, blew taps as the Maine bobbed
listlessly in Havana Harbor. Shortly afterwards, the Maine blew up,
killing 261 of the crew, including William Lambert and all but the
baseball team’s right fielder, John Bloomer.
Two months after the loss of the USS Maine, on April 25, 1898, saw the
start of the Spanish-American War, during which the rallying cry,
“Remember the Maine! To Hell with Spain!” was frequently heard.
Date Added February 25, 2013
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