Newcombe, Donald
Baseball
b. June 14, 1926, Madison, NJ
The first black pitcher to star in the major leagues, Newcombe was with the Newark Eagles of the Negro National League in 1944 and 1945 before signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He spent three seasons in the minor leagues and joined the Dodgers in 1949.
The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Newcombe had a 17-8 record and led the league with 5 shutouts in his first season, winning the Rookie of the Year Award. Despite a 3.09 ERA in the World Series, he lost both starts as the New York Yankees beat the Dodgers in five games.
After a 19-11 record in 1950, Newcombe went 20-9 and led the NL in strikeouts with 164 in 1951. An injury limited him to 29 starts in 1954, but he came back with a league-leading .800 winning percentage in 1955, when he won 20 and lost 5. He lost his only start in the World Series, but the Dodgers beat the Yankees in 6 games.
In 1956, Newcombe won the first Cy Young Award as the best pitcher in baseball and was named the league's most valuable player. He led the league in victories with a 27-7 record and in winning percentage with .794, striking out 139 hitters while walking only 46 and compiling a 3.06 ERA.
Suffering from arm trouble, Newcombe was only 11-12 in 1957 and the Dodgers traded him to Cincinnati during the 1958 season. He came back with a 13-8 record and a 3.16 ERA in 1959, but retired after going just 6-9 with Cincinnati and the Cleveland Indians in 1960.