In a Major League Baseball career panning 11 seasons, Don Newcombe broke a string of records for pitchers. No stranger to landmark moments (he played for the first modern racially integrated baseball team, the New England League’s Nashua Dodgers), Newcombe was named Rookie of the Year in 1950 and the following season led the league in strikeouts. He was the first (and one of only two to date) pitchers to win the Rookie of the Year, Most Valuable Player and Cy Young Awards during their career, the first black pitcher to start a World Series game and the first black pitcher to win 20 professional games. He was also one of Barack Obama’s favourite players, somehow.
Don Newcombe
June 14, 1926 – February 19, 2019
Died aged 92 (unique hit)