Don Newcombe was lucky to have both Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella as teammates and mentors when he first came up to the Major Leagues. No doubt in his mind that he never would’ve had a chance if it wasn’t for their impact on the game.
Don Newcombe is a right-handed starting pitcher who played for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers (1949–51 and 1954–58), Cincinnati Reds (1958–60) and Cleveland Indians (1960).
Until 2011 when Detroit Tigers pitcher Justin Verlander accomplished the feat, Newcombe was the only baseball player to have won the Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player and Cy Young awards in his career. In 1949, he became the first black pitcher to start a World Series game. In 1951, Newcombe was the first black pitcher to win twenty games in one season.[1] In 1956, the inaugural year of the Cy Young Award, he became the first pitcher to win the National League MVP and the Cy Young in the same season.
| Don Newcombe | |||
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Newcombe in 1955.
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| Pitcher | |||
| Born: June 14, 1926 Madison, New Jersey |
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| MLB debut | |||
| May 20, 1949, for the Brooklyn Dodgers | |||
| Last MLB appearance | |||
| October 1, 1960, for the Cleveland Indians | |||
| MLB statistics | |||
| Win–loss record | 149–90 | ||
| Earned run average | 3.56 | ||
| Strikeouts | 1,129 | ||
| Teams | |||
| Career highlights and awards | |||
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