LOS ANGELES — Don Newcombe, the hard-throwing Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher who was one of the first black players in the major leagues and who went on to win the rookie of the year, Most Valuable Player and Cy Young awards, has died. He was 92.
The team confirmed that Newcombe died Tuesday morning after a lengthy illness.
Newcombe pitched eight seasons with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1941-59 and after serving in the military he resumed his career from 1954-58. The right-hander helped the Dodgers win their first World Series in 1955, when he had a 20-5 record.
He was a four-time All-Star and had a career record of 149-90 with 1,129 strikeouts and a 3.56 ERA to go with 136 complete games and 24 shutouts. He pitched in three World Series and at age 22 in 1949, he became the second rookie ever to start the opening game of a World Series, striking out 11 Yankees in eight innings.
