Talk:Don Newcombe

From BR Bullpen

Don Newcombe has been greatly shortchanged in baseball history. He does not receive the same accolades given to Jackie Robinson, Lary Doby, Roy Campanella and Monte Irvin for his contribution to baseball integration. As a young Brooklyn Dodgers fan in the 1950's, I remember "Newks" dominance in the National League in 1955 and 1956, not only as the first really successful black pitcher but also as one of the great hitting pitchers and premier pinch hitters of the era. Unfortunately, the first few black pitchers brought to the majors following Robinson's debut in 1947, lacked major league ability. Many white fans in those days looked upon black pitchers the way black quarterbacks were viewed in the NFL until the 1980's. Newcombe did for black pitchers what Robinson did for infielders, Doby and Irvin for outfielders and Campanella for catchers. He affirmed that black players could play any and all positions successfully, a somewhat radical view back then. Newk turned 80 this past June and it's a damn shame that as the number of original integrators in baseball history dwindles to a handful, his achievements are not trumpeted more loudly to an audience seemingly dominated by those who think that anything that occured before 1970 is irrelevant. Submitted by Curt Auerbach September 7, 2006

Newcombe's career only lasted 10 years, but the similarity scores method shows that the second most-similar player to Newcombe is Dizzy Dean. - Randy 20:27 7 September 2006 (EDT)