Don Newcombe

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Donald Newcombe (born June 14, 1926 in Madison, New Jersey), nicknamed "Newk", is an American former Major League Baseball right-handed starting pitcher and left-handed batter who played for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1949-51 and 1954-58), Cincinnati Reds (1958-60) and Cleveland Indians (1960).

Newcombe was the first outstanding black pitcher in major league history. A 6'4", 225-pound fireball thrower, he is also the only baseball player to have won the Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player and Cy Young awards. In 1949, he became the first African-American pitcher to start a World Series game.

Newcombe was also an excellent hitting pitcher. He was one of a few pitchers in the Major Leagues used as a pinch hitter.

[edit] Career

After played one season with the Newark Eagles in the Negro Leagues, Newcombe signed with the Dodgers. With catcher Roy Campanella, Newcombe played for the first racially integrated baseball team based in the United States in the twentieth century, the 1946 Nashua Dodgers of the New England League. He continued to play for Nashua in 1947 before moving up through the minor leagues. He debuted for Brooklyn on May 20, 1949. He immediately helped the Dodgers to the league pennant as he earned 17 victories, led the league in shutouts, and pitched 32 consecutive scoreless innings. He was also among the first four black players to be named to the All-Star team, along with his teammates Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella and the Indians' Larry Doby. Newcombe was named Rookie of the Year by both The Sporting News and the Baseball Writers Association of America. In 1950 he won 19 games, and 20 the following season. He also led the league in strikeouts in 1951. In the memorable playoff game between the Dodgers and the Giants at the end of the 1951 season, Don Newcombe was relieved by Ralph Branca in the bottom of the ninth inning before Branca surrendered the walk-off home run to Bobby Thomson.

After two years of military duty during the Korean War, Newcombe suffered a disappointing comeback season in 1954, going 9-8 with a 4.55 earned run average, but returned to form the next year by finishing second in the NL in both wins and ERA, with marks of 20-5 and 3.20, as the Dodgers' "Boys of Summer" finally won the World Series. He had an even greater 1956 season, with marks of 27-7, 139 strikeouts, and a 3.06 ERA, 5 shutouts and 18 complete games, leading the league in winning percentage for the second year in a row. He was named the National League's MVP, and was awarded the first-ever Cy Young Award, then given to the single best pitcher in both major leagues.

Following the Dodgers' move to Los Angeles, Newcombe got off to a slow 0-6 start in 1958 before being traded to the Reds for four players in midseason. He posted a record of 24-21 with Cincinnati until they sold his contract to Cleveland in mid-1960. He finished with a 2-3 mark in Cleveland before being released to end his major league career. Newcombe acknowledges that alcoholism played a significant role in the decline of his career.

In his 10-year major league career, Newcombe registered a record of 149-90, with 1129 strikeouts and a 3.56 ERA, 136 complete games and 24 shutouts in 2154 innings pitched. In addition to his pitching abilities, Newcombe was a dangerous hitter as well, having hit seven homers one season. He batted .271 (the 9th-best average in history among pitchers), with 15 home runs, 108 runs batted in, 238 hits, 33 doubles, 3 triples, 94 runs scored and 8 stolen bases.

On May 28, 1962, Don Newcombe signed with the Chunichi Dragons of Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, becoming the second American player, after Wally Kaname Yonamine, and the first major league player, to play professional baseball in Japan.

Newcombe has maintained sobriety since 1967 and rejoined the Dodger organization in the 1970s. He still serves as the Dodgers' director of community affairs. In that role, he has helped numerous other people in their own battles against substance abuse.

I'm standing here with the man (Newcombe) who saved my life. He was a channel for God's love for me because he chased me all over Los Angeles trying to help me and I just couldn't understand that — but he persevered — he wouldn't give in and my life is wonderful today because of Don Newcombe.

— Maury Wills, former Dodger great, on Newcombe's role in helping Wills regain sobriety after Wills' substance abuse problems in the 1980s.

What I have done after my baseball career and being able to help people with their lives and getting their lives back on track and they become human beings again — means more to me than all the things I did in baseball.

— Don Newcombe

[edit] References

• Platt, Ben. "Newcombe, Wills honored for efforts", mlb.com, February 3, 2006

[edit] See also

• List of First MLB Black Player by Team and Date
• List of Major League Baseball strikeout champions
• List of Major League Baseball wins champions

[edit] External links

• Career statistics and player information from Baseball-Reference
• Baseball Hall of Fame candidate profile via the Internet Archive
• Dodgers to celebrate Japanese American Community Night