Former Dodgers great Newcombe dies
LOS ANGELES — Don Newcombe, the hardthrowing Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher who was one of the first black players in the major leagues and who went on to win the Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player and Cy Young awards, has died. He was 92.
The team confirmed that Newcombe died Tuesday morning after a lengthy illness.
“Don Newcombe’s presence and life established him as a role model for Major Leaguers across the country,” Dodgers President Stan Kasten said. “He was a constant presence at Dodger Stadium, and players always gravitated to him for his endless advice and leadership. The Dodgers meant everything to him, and we are all fortunate he was a part of our lives.”
Newcombe, like Dodgers teammate Jackie Robinson, was signed by
Branch Rickey from the Negro Leagues and went on to make a huge mark in the major leagues.
“Newk” was a fierce presence on the mound, a 6-foot-4 and 225-pound bear of a man who stared down hitters and backed up anyone foolish enough to crowd the plate.
He was a four-time AllStar and won 20 games three different times.
“Don Newcombe had a ton of talent and he was a great competitor,” former Dodgers manager Tommy
Lasorda, who was a teammate of Newcombe’s, said. “He was a helluva pitcher and he was one of the best hitting pitchers I have ever seen.”
His greatest year was 1956 when he went 27-7 and won both the Cy Young Award, then only given to one pitcher for both leagues, and the National League MVP award.
“He was a powerhouse. I don’t think he really got enough credit for his overall performance,” said former teammate Carl
Erskine. “He threw a fastball that had great location and a curveball that was a short, hard breaking pitch.”
Newcombe, Robinson and catcher Roy Campanella were a trio of black stars for the Dodgers who often supported each other.
Born June 14, 1926, in Madison, New Jersey, Newcombe pitched in the Negro Leagues starting in 1944 at age 18. In 1945 he had an 8-3 record with the Newark Eagles and won the attention of the Brooklyn Dodgers organization. Dodgers manager Dave
Roberts said Newcombe was a friend and mentor who had a great impact on his life.
“What he did for baseball, as being one of the first African-American players, his career with the Dodgers and how he impacted the organization,” Roberts said after spring training workouts in Glendale, Arizona. “Sharing stories about Jackie Robinson and his plight helped me and furthered my education on our history, so
we lost a great man, a great Dodger today.”
In other news:
• Third baseman Mike Moustakas and the Brewers finalized a $10 million, one-year contract.
• Just weeks after becoming baseball’s first unanimous Hall of Fame selection, Mariano Rivera is defending himself from accusations in his native Panama that he has failed to support two children he had outside his marriage.
The former New York Yankees’ closer called the demands filed against him in Panama “unfounded.”