In 1951, Don Newcombe was the first black pitcher to win 20 games in one season.
| FactSnippet No. 1,748,352 |
19 Facts About Don Newcombe
2.
Don Newcombe was born in Madison, New Jersey, on June 14,1926, and was raised in Elizabeth.
| FactSnippet No. 1,748,353 |
3.
The school did not have a baseball team, so Don Newcombe played semi-professional baseball while attending high school.
| FactSnippet No. 1,748,354 |
4.
Don Newcombe debuted for Brooklyn on May 20,1949, becoming the third African American pitcher in the major leagues, after Dan Bankhead and Satchel Paige.
| FactSnippet No. 1,748,355 |
5.
Don Newcombe immediately helped the Dodgers to the league pennant as he earned seventeen victories, led the league in shutouts, and pitched 32 consecutive scoreless innings.
| FactSnippet No. 1,748,356 |
6.
Don Newcombe was among the first four black players to be named to an All-Star team, along with teammates Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella and the Indians' Larry Doby.
| FactSnippet No. 1,748,357 |
9.
Don Newcombe was the only player to win MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year awards until Justin Verlander accomplished the feat in 2011.
| FactSnippet No. 1,748,360 |
10.
Don Newcombe acknowledged that alcoholism played a significant role in the decline of his career.
| FactSnippet No. 1,748,361 |
11.
On May 28,1962, Don Newcombe signed with the Chunichi Dragons of Nippon Professional Baseball's Central League.
| FactSnippet No. 1,748,362 |
12.
Don Newcombe played one season in Japan, splitting time as an outfielder and a first baseman, only pitching in one game.
| FactSnippet No. 1,748,363 |
13.
Don Newcombe rejoined the Dodger organization in the late 1970s and served as the team's Director of Community Affairs.
| FactSnippet No. 1,748,364 |
14.
Don Newcombe was inducted into the Baseball Reliquary's Shrine of the Eternals in 2016 and into the initial class of "Legends of Dodger Baseball" in 2019.
| FactSnippet No. 1,748,365 |
15.
Don Newcombe dealt with alcoholism in the 1950s and 1960s, describing himself as "a stupefied, wife-abusing, child-frightening, falling-down drunk".
| FactSnippet No. 1,748,366 |
16.
Don Newcombe's alcoholism became so severe that, in 1965, he pawned his World Series ring in order to afford alcohol.
| FactSnippet No. 1,748,367 |
17.
Don Newcombe quit drinking in 1966, when his wife threatened to leave him.
| FactSnippet No. 1,748,368 |
18.
Don Newcombe died on the morning of February 19,2019, at the age of 92, following a long illness.
| FactSnippet No. 1,748,369 |