Don Newcombe is recognized for many firsts throughout his lengthy Major League Baseball career. The first player to win National League Rookie of the Year Award in 1949. Winner of the inaugural Cy Young Award in 1956.
He also was the first member of baseball’s Black Aces. Newcombe won 20 games in 1951, then achieved that feat again in 1955 and 1956. He was viewed as a force on the mound, standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 225 pounds with an intimidating fastball.
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As his oldest living teammate tells it, that fastball was all Newcombe needed on the mound. Carl Erskine, 97 years old and sharp, remembers well.
“He didn’t have a lot of pitches,” said Erskine, who pitched alongside Newcombe with the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1949-51 and 1954-58. “He didn’t change speeds very much at all, and his curveball was more like what we call a slider. It was a short, breaking pitch, not a very big roundhouse curve, but he had such great control of that pitch. And, of course, he could throw.
“I don’t know what his actual recorded speed was, but he was in the mid- to high-90s, for sure. It was his control. He could take the corners, and he just had a mastery.”
Before Newcombe’s arrival to Brooklyn, the Dodgers already featured future Baseball Hall of Famers in Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella. Newcombe made his MLB debut with the Dodgers in 1949, two years after Robinson broke the color barrier.
The Dodgers reached the World Series three times (1949, 1955 and 1956) during Newcombe’s tenure. They beat the New York Yankees in 1955 to capture their first World Series title.
Erskine, who made his Dodgers debut in 1948, said a big part of Newcombe’s success, and the success of all the Dodgers’ pitchers, was Campanella, the Hall of Fame catcher. Erskine said Newcombe and Campanella had a noticeable connection on and off the field, with mutual respect as part of their bond.
“Campy was the catcher; he had various ways of handling a young pitcher, which I was one of them,” Erskine said. “The way he returned the ball, how he played, he could control the pitcher’s pace. … He was very helpful with Newk, who was young, hard-throwing. Campanella would control his pace.
“I actually give Campy a lot of credit for making (Newcombe) a finished pitcher.”
Former Los Angeles Dodgers general manager Fred Claire got to know Newcombe, who died in 2019 at the age of 92, during his time with the franchise in various roles from 1969-98. Claire said Newcombe was a dynamic presence on the mound who also was cognizant of how he carried himself off the field, particularly in retirement. He added that Newcombe almost always was in a suit and wanted to present himself in a professional manner.
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Newcombe spread that message to many in the organization. Fellow Black Ace Dave Stewart broke into the big leagues with the Dodgers in 1978 and was with the team until 1983. Stewart said Newcombe always stressed professionalism and how his actions could affect others.
“I’m not just representing myself when I take the mound,” said Stewart, recalling Newcombe’s advice. “I’m representing other young Black players that may want to be pitchers in the future. The example that I set, the things that I do, somebody is always watching.”
Newcombe was someone who accepted tutelage, then paid it forward. Beyond his on-field accomplishments, Newcombe was impactful as a mentor to young players wanting to succeed in baseball and in life. He also was a support system for those struggling with addiction. His battles with alcoholism in the 1950s and ’60s were well documented, and he wasn’t afraid to discuss them openly.
Claire said there weren’t many better equipped to be a guide like Newcombe, who served as a community relations director, a team adviser and an advocate for sobriety for many years following his career. Newcombe had his ups and downs, but he bounced back in each case and became a listening ear and a voice of reason for Dodgers players and executives.
“His presence was significant in terms of what he had done and what he was all about,” Claire said. “Not only as a player, but he is just as important with his presence and what he continued to contribute. During the time that I was there, and a number of years after I had left, I could still see at various times how Don impacted Dodgers teams through the years.”
In regards to Newcombe being a leader for pitchers, Claire added: “I always used to use the term ‘good pitching breeds good pitching,’ because pitchers will listen more to the pitcher who’s had success than anybody.”
With a remarkable 27-win season, Don Newcombe, the first Black Ace, won the inaugural Cy Young Award in 1956. #BlackHistoryMonth pic.twitter.com/hZ1PBtYOMj
— MLB (@MLB) February 27, 2023
The Dodgers have been known for their pitching for decades, which Claire said began in Newcombe’s era — before the team had success in Los Angeles with the likes of Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale. Newcombe was the second Black pitcher behind Dan Bankhead to pitch for the Dodgers, and he was the third Black pitcher to debut in the major leagues behind Bankhead and Satchel Paige.
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Newcombe narrowly missed winning 20 games in 1950 but broke through the following year with a 20-9 record. He lost two prime years of his career to military obligations (1952 and 1953) but returned to baseball in 1954. He won 20 games in 1955 and led the league with 27 wins in 1956.
When he won the Cy Young in 1956, Newcombe also earned NL MVP honors. His 27 wins that year is a record among the Black Aces that has stood for nearly 70 years. Newcombe became the first pitcher to capture Rookie of the Year, MVP and a Cy Young in a career. Justin Verlander has since matched that feat.
Newcombe also saw MLB time with Cincinnati and Cleveland. He finished his pro career in Japan with the Chunichi Dragons in 1962. Newcombe won 153 total games (126 with the Dodgers) and had a career 3.57 ERA. He recorded 145 complete games and 24 shutouts. He had 1,187 strikeouts, including an MLB-best 164 in 1951. Newcombe was productive on offense, as well, hitting .268 with 15 home runs and 109 RBIs for his career.
Newcombe was the quintessential role model for the Dodgers. Erskine said he learned a lot from him. Claire added that his humanitarian efforts might have been more valuable than his fastball. Claire recalled when he and Newcombe helped former Dodger Maury Wills get into a rehabilitation program. Wills later thanked them for saving his life.
“He had the ability to (help) because of his background, not as someone who was preaching or lecturing, but someone who others knew,” Claire said of Newcombe. “Not just players, but other people in the organization knew, ‘Here is someone who knows the journey that I’m on, and who wants to help me.’”
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(Illustration: Ray Orr / The Athletic; photo: Bettmann / Contributor)