More than a game

In memoriam: Newcombe and Robinson were key in elevating black players, managers

They ran the next legs, taking the baton from Jackie Robinson as black players claimed their place in the game.

The deaths in 2019 of Don Newcombe and Frank Robinson left baseball not only without two pillars on the diamond but two pillars in its fight against inequity.

Newcombe, a pitcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, knew the sting of segregation traveling from city to city. Martin Luther King Jr., it is said, thanked him for making his work easier.

Frank Robinson dared any pitcher to throw it his way and later set the course for black managers, starting with the Indians in 1975.

Sports also lost part of the core of two dynasties — Bart Starr of the Packers and John Havlicek of the Celtics. One was immortalized for a sneak, the other for a steal.

Marchetti, the formidable defensive end, won two titles with the Baltimore Colts . ... Johnny “Lam” Jones was an Olympic gold medalist sprinter who played for the Jets and Cowboys. … Two Heisman Trophy winners died: Navy’s Joe Bellino and Ohio State’s Hopalong Cassady.

In boxing, Russia’s Maxim Dadashev and Argentina’s Hugo Santillan died from ring injuries days apart. … Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker, a four-division champ, was fatally hit by a car in Virginia. … Bert Cooper took on his share of top heavyweights.

Soccer is diminished without England goalkeeper Gordon Banks, who made perhaps the greatest save in soccer history, on a header by Pele at the 1970 World Cup . ... In golf, sweetswinging Gene Littler won the 1961 U.S. Open . ... Horse racing’s Marylou Whitney was a prodigious thoroughbred breeder.

In tennis, Australia’s Peter

McNamara was part of one of the best doubles teams in the 1980s. … Finland’s Matti Nykanen was a four-time Olympic ski jump champ. … Jack Burton Carpenter helped make snowboarding a Winter Games showpiece.

In track, Harrison Dillard, the only Olympian to win the sprints and high hurdles, had been the oldest living U.S. Olympic champion at 96. … New Zealand miler Peter Snell was a three-time Olympic gold medalist.

The laughter quieted with the exit of sports writer and author Dan Jenkins. At his World Golf Hall of Fame induction, Jenkins listened as his honors were read.

“You left out my cure for polio,” he said.

TONI L. SANDYS/WASHINGTON POST Frank Robinson waves goodbye to Nationals fans at RFK Stadium before his final game as manager on Oct. 1, 2006. Robinson died this year at 83.

AP Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Don Newcombe, shown here in 1951, was one of the first black players in the majors. Newcombe died this year at 92.

MICHAEL CONROY/AP Former Packers quarterback Bart Starr carries the Vince Lombardi Trophy at the Super Bowl in 2006. Starr died this year at 85.

AP The Celtics’ John Havlicek (17) drives past the Hawks’ Walt Hazzard during a January 1970 game in Boston. Havlicek died this year at 79.