A legend takes the last long walk off the mound

Phil Gurnee ♦ February 20, 2019 ♦ Leave a comment

One of the best parts of covering the Dodgers was seeing Mr. Newcombe in the stands three hours before game time.  At the time I knew Don worked for the Dodgers but I didn’t know about his habit of being in the stands 2 – 3 hours before every game in the box seats just off the tunnel entrance that takes you toward the dugout.  My first thought upon seeing Don Newcombe in person was that he stood taller than any man of his age should have stood. Ramrod back could have used a picture of Don Newcombe in the definition.   Matt Kemp would always stop by and give his respects. Later I heard that Kenley Jansen became very close to him. I wanted to talk to him more than I wanted to talk to any current Dodgers but I could never muster the courage to bother him with my insignificant questions. This man had seen everything, been through everything. Oh to pick his mind at our leisure, what a treasure trove that would have been.

When I first read about Don Newcombe as a young child I thought I was reading about a Hall of Famer. His list of early career achievements was as good as it gets. Rookie of the Year, Cy Young Award (when it was only one for both leagues), and MVP. Back than wins were indicative of your pitching prowess so his 47 – 12 record over the 1955/1956 seasons stood out.  When I perused his baseball encyclopedia page (the baseball reference of my time) I wondered what happened, how did he go from winning 27 games and the MVP at age 30 to having only one more winning season over the next four seasons? How did it end so quickly for him? Only later did I learn about the addictions that helped derail his career. And much much later via Jon Weisman did I find out about how the Dodgers slagged his arm.

Jon Weisman told me that he wanted to write a book about Don Newcombe but that because of certain reasons we won’t go into detail here he was unable to do that book. Instead Jon wrote Brother in Arms about all the great Dodger hurlers and of course, Don Newcombe got one of the biggest chapters. It is in this chapter that you might be stunned at how much Don Newcombe was used. Jon was gracious enough to put that entire chapter online today.

In case you missed it, I posted my full chapter on Don Newcombe as a tribute in his memory. Please take a look. https://t.co/Zsh0rLFlCD

— Jon Weisman (@jonweisman) February 20, 2019

I would recommend everyone to check out that chapter or better yet, buy the book. There is no need for me to go into the details of Don Newcombe because I can’t add anything to what Jon already wrote regarding his accomplishments and what he meant to the Dodger community.

In the (in)famous 1951 pennant race, Don Newcombe shouldered 32 innings in eight days! https://t.co/vFHUli403n pic.twitter.com/XELDbLAEmG

— Jon Weisman (@jonweisman) February 19, 2019

In one 17-day stretch in 1950, Don Newcombe pitched *52* innings and allowed four earned runs for a 0.69 ERA. https://t.co/vFHUli403n pic.twitter.com/RfepC8xXMv

— Jon Weisman (@jonweisman) February 19, 2019

Don Newcombe was the main inspiration for my book on the history of Dodger pitching, Brothers in Arms, and his chapter in it is my favorite. His life was cinematic. Farewell to a true and underappreciated legend. pic.twitter.com/eCsHCamuOi

— Jon Weisman (@jonweisman) February 19, 2019

With Don dying, the Dodgers still have two legends from the 1955 Championship team in Tommy Lasorda and Sandy Koufax.  Carl Erskine and Roger Craig are the only other two members of the 1955 Championship team still alive.

I’m not a faith-based person, but I can certainly imagine a world where Don Newcombe comes striding off the mound to meet Roy Campanella and shake his hand once again while the 1955 Team gives him a rousing round of applause for everything he did during his second act.