Don Newcombe
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Donald Newcombe (June 14, 1926 – February 19, 2019), nicknamed "Newk", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played ten non-consecutive seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). He began his career in the Negro National League and ended it in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
Newcombe was the first pitcher to win the
Newcombe was an excellent hitting pitcher who compiled a career batting average of .271 with 15 home runs and was used as a pinch hitter, a rarity for pitchers.[3]
Early life
Newcombe was born in Madison, New Jersey, on June 14, 1926, and was raised in Elizabeth.[4] He had three brothers and a sister. His father worked as a chauffeur.[5]
Newcombe attended Jefferson High School in Elizabeth. The school did not have a baseball team, so Newcombe played
Career
After playing briefly with the
Newcombe debuted for Brooklyn on May 20, 1949, becoming the third African American pitcher in the major leagues, after
After two years of mandatory military duty during the Korean War, Newcombe suffered a disappointing 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 earned run average, with marks of 20–5 and 3.20, as the Dodgers won their first World Series in franchise history. He had an even greater 1956 season, with marks of 27–7, 139 strikeouts, and a 3.06 ERA, five 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 best pitcher in the combined major leagues. He was the only player to win MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards until Justin Verlander accomplished the feat in 2011.[11] Newcombe had a difficult time in the 1956 World Series.[12] He was the losing pitcher in Game 7. Berra, who hit three home runs off of him in the series, hit two of them in Game 7. The Yankees and Johnny Kucks won 9–0.[5]
Following the Dodgers' move to Los Angeles, Newcombe got off to an 0–6 start in 1958 before being traded to the
On May 28, 1962, Newcombe signed with the
In his ten-year major league career, Newcombe registered a record of 149–90, with 1,129 strikeouts and a 3.56 ERA, 136 complete games and 24 shutouts in 2,154 innings pitched. In addition to his pitching abilities, Newcombe was a dangerous hitter, hitting seven home runs in the 1955 season.[15] He batted .271 (ninth-best average in history among pitchers), with 15 home runs, 108 RBIs, 238 hits, 33 doubles, three triples, 94 runs scored and eight stolen bases.[16]
A historic marker was installed in Nashua, NH by the Black Heritage Trail of New Hampshire to celebrate the achievements of Newcombe and Roy Campanella in 2023.[17]
Life after retirement
Newcombe rejoined the Dodger organization in the late 1970s and served as the team's Director of Community Affairs. In March 2009, he was named special adviser to the chairman of the team.[18]
Newcombe was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary's Shrine of the Eternals in 2016[19] and into the initial class of "Legends of Dodger Baseball" in 2019.[20]
Personal life
Newcombe was married three times. His first wife was Freddie Green, whom he married in 1945 and divorced in 1960. They had 3 children Evit, Gregory (died 1998), and Robin (died 2015). Evit resides in Florida. A week after his divorce from Green, he married Billie Roberts, a marriage which lasted until they divorced in 1994. Newcombe's third wife, Karen Kroner, survived him.[5][21]
Newcombe dealt with alcoholism in the 1950s and 1960s, describing himself as "a stupefied, wife-abusing, child-frightening, falling-down drunk". His alcoholism became so severe that, in 1965, he pawned his World Series ring in order to afford alcohol. He quit drinking in 1966, when his wife threatened to leave him.[5] In his personal and professional life, he helped numerous other people including military personnel and Dodgers teammate Maury Wills in their own battles against substance abuse.[22]
At a fundraising event for Senator Barbara Boxer, President Barack Obama referred to Newcombe (who was attending the event) as "someone who helped... America become what it is.[23]
I would not be here if it were not for Jackie and it were not for Don Newcombe.
- - Barack Obama, April 19, 2010.
Newcombe died on the morning of February 19, 2019, at the age of 92, following a long illness. His death was announced on the Los Angeles Dodgers. He's interred at the Los Angeles National Cemetery in Los Angeles.[24]
See also
- Black Aces, African-American pitchers with a 20-win MLB season
- List of first black Major League Baseball players
- List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders
- List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders
- List of Major League Baseball all-time leaders in home runs by pitchers
- List of Negro league baseball players who played in Major League Baseball
References
- ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
- ISBN 978-0-451-22363-0
- ISBN 0-8032-9293-7.
- ^ Young, A. S. Doc. "Don Newcombe: Baseball great wins fight against alcoholism", Ebony, April 1976, pp. 54-62. Accessed March 12, 2011.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Don Newcombe - Society for American Baseball Research". sabr.org. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ "Holman Stadium Hosted First Interracial Team". NPR. June 16, 2010. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ISBN 978-0786411207.
- ^ Mitchell, Houston (May 14, 2015). "The 20 greatest Dodgers of all time, No. 17: Don Newcombe". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ISBN 978-0-7864-5334-4.
- ^ Goldstein, Richard (November 23, 2016). "Ralph Branca, Who Gave Up 'Shot Heard Round the World,' Dies at 90 - The New York Times". The New York Times. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ "Don Newcombe Awards by Baseball Almanac". www.baseball-almanac.com. Retrieved February 25, 2023.
- ^ admin. "Don Newcombe – Society for American Baseball Research". Retrieved February 25, 2023.
- ^ Scannell, Nancy (May 22, 1977). "Newcombe's Biggest Victory Was Over the Bottle". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ "Don Newcombe," Baseball-Reference.com. Accessed March 15, 2015.
- ^ "1955 Brooklyn Dodgers Statistics". Baseball-Reference.com. January 1, 1970. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ Omnisport Updated at 2:24 p.m. ET Updated at 2:24 p.m. ET. "Don Newcombe, star pitcher linked to Dodgers' Brooklyn past, dies at 92 | MLB". Sporting News. Archived from the original on April 5, 2019. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Casey, Michael. "Nashua's Holman Stadium honored for historic role in racially integrating baseball". Portsmouth Herald. Retrieved March 1, 2024.
- ^ "Don Newcombe named Special Advisor to the Chairman". MLB.com. March 23, 2009. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ "Shrine of the Eternals – Inductees" Archived September 19, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. Baseball Reliquary. Retrieved 2019-08-14.
- ^ "Maury Wills named to 'Legends of Dodger Baseball'". MLB.com. April 13, 2022. Retrieved April 17, 2022.
- ^ Marino, David. "Don Newcombe, pitching star who later led programs to treat substance abuse, dies at 92". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ Hudson, Maryann (January 31, 1990). "For Wills, Basepaths Led to His Own Private Hell : Baseball: After battling drugs and depression, the former Dodger shortstop finally feels part of a team--and important as an individual". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
- ^ Obama, Barack (April 19, 2010), Remarks by the President at fundraising event for Senator Boxer and the DNC, retrieved September 12, 2017
- ^ Perry, Dayn. "Don Newcombe, former Dodgers great and inaugural Cy Young Award winner, dead at 92". CBS Sports. Retrieved February 19, 2019.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from MLB, or ESPN, or Baseball Reference, or Fangraphs, or Baseball Reference (Minors), or Retrosheet or Seamheads
- Don Newcombe at the SABR Baseball Biography Project
- 2007 Baseball Hall of Fame candidate profile at the Wayback Machine (archived April 21, 2007)