Don Newcombe Stats & Facts
Don Newcombe
Position: Pitcher
Bats: Left • Throws: Right
6-4, 220lb (193cm, 99kg)
Born: June 14, 1926 in Madison, NJ
Died: February 19, 2019 in Sherman Oaks, CA
Buried: Los Angeles National Cemetery, Los Angeles, CA
High School: Thomas Jefferson HS (Elizabeth, NJ)
Debut: May 20, 1949 (8,203rd in MLB history)
vs. STL 0.1 IP, 4 H, 1 SO, 0 BB, 3 ER
Last Game: October 1, 1960
vs. CHW 0.1 IP, 1 H, 0 SO, 0 BB, 0 ER
Full Name: Donald Newcombe
Nicknames: Newk
View Player Bio from the SABR BioProject
Played For
Brooklyn Dodgers (1949-1957)
Los Angeles Dodgers (1958)
Cincinnati Reds (1958-1960)
Cleveland Indians (1960)
Awards and Honors
1949 NL Rookie of the Year
1956 ML Cy Young
1956 NL MVP
All-Star Selections
Post-Season Appearances
1949 World Series
1955 World Series
1956 World Series
All-Star Selections
1949 NL
1950 NL
1951 NL
1955 NL
Nine Players Who Debuted in 1949
Monte Irvin
Minnie Minoso
Roy Sievers
Smoky Burgess
Del Crandall
Bobby Avila
Walt Dropo
Don Newcombe
Morrie Martin
All-Time Teammate Team
Coming Soon
Notable Events and Chronology for Don Newcombe Career
A three-time 20-game winner, big Don Newcombe was unable to sustain his success, winning 149 games in a career interrupted by military service and injury. One of the best athletes to take the mound, Newcombe hit seven homers in 117 at-bats for the Dodgers in 1955, and batted .271 for his career. In 1956 he won 27 games on his way to the National League Cy Young and Most Valuable Player Awards. He was the first african-american pitcher to win 20 games in the major leagues.
After playing 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 20th 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. Effa Manley, business manager for the Eagles, agreed to let the Dodgers’ Branch Rickey sign Newcombe to a contract. Manley was not compensated for the release of Newcombe. He immediately helped the Dodgers to the league pennant as he earned seventeen 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 an All-Star team, along with 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, also leading the league in strikeouts in 1951. In the memorable playoff game between the Dodgers and the Giants at the end of the 1951 season, Newcombe was relieved by Ralph Branca in the bottom of the ninth inning when Clyde Sukeforth instructed manager Chuck Dressen to bring in Branca. Branca then surrendered the walk-off home run to Bobby Thomson to give the Giants the pennant.
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. Newcombe had a difficult time in the 1956 World Series. He was the losing pitcher in Game 7, and he could not get the ball by Yogi Berra, who hit three home runs off him in the series, two of which came in Game 7, which the Yankees and Johnny Kucks won 9–0.
Following the Dodgers’ move to Los Angeles, Newcombe got off to an 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 his contract was sold to Cleveland in mid-1960. He finished with a 2–3 mark in Cleveland before being released to end his major league career. Newcombe acknowledged that alcoholism played a significant role in the decline of his career.
In his ten-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, hitting seven homers one season. He batted .271 (ninth-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.
Best Season, 1957
Newcombe was dominant in 1956, hurling 27 victories and winning the first-ever Cy Young Award.
Factoid
With the Nagoya Dragons of the Japan League in 1962, Don Newcombe played first base and batted .262 with 12 homers in 81 games.
Where He Played: Newcombe was probably a good enough hitter that he could have been a position player in the big leagues.
His Arsenal: The Pitches He Threw
Stan Musial called Newcombe’s fastball the most frightening pitch he ever faced.
Post-Season Notes
Newcombe started Game Three of the historic 1951 NL Playoffs, leaving the contest with a 4-2 lead and two runners on base in the ninth. Bobby Thomson took care of the rest.
Feats: In 1949, as a rookie, Newcombe pitched 32 scoreless innings down the stretch to help the Dodgers win the pennant by a single game.
Injuries and Explanation for Missed Playing Time
Newcombe missed the 1952 and 1953 season while serving in Korea. By 1958, Newcombe was nearing the end of his bright career, at least in part due to his alcohol addiction. Following his career he spent years counseling ballplayers and athletes on the danger of alcohol.
Transactions
Before 1946 Season: Signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers as an amateur free agent; June 15, 1958: Traded by the Los Angeles Dodgers to the Cincinnati Redlegs for players to be named later, Johnny Klippstein, and Steve Bilko. The Cincinnati Redlegs sent Art Fowler (June 23, 1958) and Charlie Rabe (June 23, 1958) to the Los Angeles Dodgers to complete the trade; July 29, 1960: Purchased by the Cleveland Indians from the Cincinnati Reds; January 19, 1961: Released by the Cleveland Indians.
Data courtesy of Restrosheet.org
The 12 Black Aces
Through 2004, twelve African-American pitchers had won 20-games in the major leagues. Of course, black pitchers had won twenty many times in the negro leagues, but these dozen, who, under the direction of Mudcat Grant, called themselves the “12 Black Aces,” are an exclusive club:
1. Don Newcombe
2. Sam Jones
3. Bob Gibson.
4. Mudcat Grant
5. Earl Wilson
6. Fergie Jenkins
7. Al Downing
8. Vida Blue
9. J.R. Richard
10. Mike Norris
11. Dwight Gooden
12. Dave Stewart
1. Don Newcombe… 1951, 1955
2. Sam Jones… 1959
3. Bob Gibson… 1965,
4. Mudcat Grant… 1965
5. Earl Wilson… 1967
6. Fergie Jenkins… 1967
7. Al Downing… 1971
8. Vida Blue… 1971, 1973, 1975
9. J.R. Richard… 1976
10. Mike Norris… 1980
11. Dwight Gooden… 1985
12. Dave Stewart… 1987-1990
Factoid
Don Newcombe is the only pitcher to win the Rookie of the Year Award, Cy Young Award, and MVP Award.
Best Strength as a Player
Command of his fastball.
Factoids, Quotes, Milestones and Odd Facts
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