Don Newcombe

Born

Died

Height

Weight
  June 14, 1926, Madison, NJ                             N/A                            6'4"                             220
Threw Batted Position(s)
                          Right                            Left                               p

Don Newcombe

As a nineteen-year-old fastball pitcher for the Newark Eagles, Don registered an 8-3 record in 1945. A left-handed swinger, the big youngster was often used as a pinch hitter. The previous year, in his first season in the Negro Leagues, he was winless against 3 losses, but his progress and raw talent were noted by the Brooklyn Dodger organization.

Later signed by Brooklyn, he enjoyed a great ten-year major-league career, including pennants with the Dodgers in 1949, 1955, and 1956. After registering seasons of exactly 20 wins in 1951 and 1955, his best year was 1956, when his 27-7 record earned him both the CY Young Award and the National League's MVP honor. The big right-hander finished his major league career with a 149-90 record and a 3.56 ERA.

After first signing with the Dodger organization, he played two seasons in the New England League with Nashua, and fashioned seasons of 14-4 and 19-6, batting .311 with power in his first season and leading the league in victories his second season. After a 17-6 record at Montreal in the International League sandwiched between two winters in Vargas, Venezuela (10-3) and Marano, Cuba (1-6), he earned his first trip to the parent club, registering a 17-8 season after joining the Dodgers in 1949. Two more outstanding seasons (19-11 and 20-9) preceded his loss of two prime seasons to military service, after which he returned to form, with a 20-5 record in 1955 preparatory to his sensational VMP season in 1956.

In the aftermath of his career season, his effectiveness dissipated as he pitched successively with the transplanted Dodgers in Los Angeles, the Cincinnati Reds, and the Cleveland Indians before dropping out of the major leagues after the 1960 season. In 1961 he pitched with Spokane in the Pacific Coast League, barely breaking .500 with a 9-8 record. In 1962 he closed out his professional baseball career as an outfielder-first baseman, hammering 12 home runs and batting .262 with the Chunichi Dragons in Japan.

Courtesy of  "The Biographical Encyclopedia of The Negro Baseball Leagues" by James A. Riley

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