Cross & Crescent

“Ray always struck me as the pro’s pro,” says Josh Lewin (Northwestern 1990), who currently does play-by-play for the Texas Rangers, San Diego Chargers, and FOX-TV. “Great pipes, great presentation, and always prepared.”

Ray Lane (Michigan State 1953) and Lewin first crossed paths in Detroit, Michigan, when Lewin spent a few years doing play-by-play for the Detroit Tigers TV broadcast from 1998 to 2001.

The admiration Lewin expressed for Lane is mutual.

“Josh is a darn good announcer,” Lane says. “He’s probably one of the best announcers I’ve ever seen.”

Lane has been a sports fixture in Michigan for the past four decades doing play-by-play for the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Detroit Pistons, the University of Michigan football, Michigan State University football, and University of Detroit basketball.

Outside of Michigan, Lane’s other works include a stint doing play-by-play with the Cincinnati Reds from 1979 to 1984 and some duties with ESPN during their early beginnings in the 1980s.

Career Highlights

“I guess the highlights would be doing pro baseball with the Detroit Tigers for 16 years — radio and TV,” Lane says. “Being part of the 1968 World Series goes back a number of years. I did the pre-game show on CBS.”

Lane also enjoyed spending seven years as the play-by-play man for the Cincinnati Reds. “I was not there when it was the Big Red Machine,” he says. “I got there when it just starting to crack down a little bit in ’79 to ’85. But to watch Pete Rose and Johnny Bench certainly would have to be highlights for me.”

He then had the opportunity to broadcast Michigan State football and basketball for about four years, getting to call the basketball game when Michigan State won the NCAA championship in 1979 against Indiana State.

With Magic Johnson playing for Michigan State and Larry Bird playing for Indiana State, Lane says it was just a precursor of things to come in the NBA.

“Both guys, when you took a look at them, you knew they were going to be spectacular in the pros,” Lane says.

Born to Broadcast

“From the time I had the biggest mouth in the neighborhood, I wanted to go into sportscasting, sports broadcasting,” Lane says.

Michigan State was one of the few universities back in the 1960s that offered both journalism courses and a new radio and television department.

“So I knew I wanted to go there,” he says. “I had the great fortune to get a baseball scholarship to go there.”

Lane played outfield on the varsity baseball team for three years. When asked about his abilities he jokes and says, “I was a slow runner, not a bad thrower, and a weak hitter.”

The Korean War had just begun when Lane graduated from Michigan State. He tried to enroll in a master’s program and play some professional baseball but the U.S. Army drafted him, preventing him from continuing his education.

Lane spent two years in the Army at various military bases. After the military, he found a small TV station in Cadillac, Michigan, where he did a little bit of everything.

Working his way up the broadcasting system, Lane spent the next two years in Waterloo, Iowa, then another three years in Saginaw/Bay City, Michigan.

That’s where the big break came and he got the opportunity to interview in Detroit with the CBS affiliate.

Making It to the Big League

When Lane landed the job in Detroit he thought he would stay there only a few years, but it ended up being 22. Little did he know at the time that he would get the opportunity to do professional baseball, football, and basketball.

“I lucked out, really I did,” he says.

When Lane auditioned for the baseball job in 1965, he was hired for the first two years to do TV and then he was also offered the radio job.

“I had the great opportunity to work with the broadcast hall of famer Earnie Harwell,” Lane says. “I did the middle innings. Earnie did the first three and the last three. I also did the post game show, that’s how we got extra money.”

When the station lost its contract, Lane searched for other opportunities.

While doing a nightly sports show in Detroit an opportunity arose for Lane to do the broadcasts for the Cincinnati Reds, which he did for six years.

Lucky for Lambda Chi

Wally Beggs (Michigan State 1951), a pitcher on the Michigan State varsity baseball team, recruited Lane to join Lambda Chi, much to Lane’s surprise.

“For the simple reason that they all didn’t come from the same background or same size city or town,” says Lane, explaining how much he appreciated the chapter’s interest in recruiting him.

Lane says that Lambda Chi taught him a lot about how to get along with others and how to compromise.

“I think it molded my personality,” he says. “How you meet people, how you treat people, and how they perceive you.”

Lane gives a lot of credit to Lambda Chi for providing him the confidence to do auditions and job interviews, a skill set that paid off multiple times during his career.

“While you’re living it you don’t think much about it,” he says. “But as the years roll by you think about Lambda Chi. I think you also develop a loyalty not only to individuals but to the entire organization. You certainly come up with an understanding of different viewpoints.”

Currently, there is a handful of Michigan State Lambda Chis who still live in the Detroit area who played varsity baseball. Roughly once a month, this small group gets together for lunch and to enjoy each other’s company.

Those alumni include Beggs, Cornell Ghise (Michigan State 1952), Jack Hofstetter (Michigan State 1952), Bill Hopping (Michigan State 1954), and Vince Magi (Michigan State 1953).

“We’re all much better ball players than we were then,” says Lane. “We lie an awful lot.”

Hall of Fame Induction

In 1998, Lane says he was surprised and honored when he found out he was going to be inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame.

“You look at some of the other guys,” says Lane, “and still to this day I think, ‘Wait a minute, do I really belong?’”. But then he starts remembering all of his accomplishments throughout his career.

Skilled on camera as well as off, Lane enjoyed radio the most because it was more of an announcers medium — a medium that required only his voice to paint the picture.

“Television has become a producer’s medium,” he says. “A TV announcer may see something and want to comment about it, but a producer may instruct him to say something else or to look at another camera angle.”

Golfing and Retirement

Lane says that unfortunately his golf game has not improved much since he retired.

“I’m a hacker, so I’ll never get better,” he chuckles. “Too late at this age. I’m looking for an illegal club and an illegal ball to use so I can get more distance.”

About not doing play-by-play any more, Lanes says he misses the association with the players, coaches, and front office. Mostly, he misses the action.

“It was fun,” he says, reflecting on his career. “I don’t know where the time went, but it was fun.”