There have been a handful of professional athletes born in Madison. However, two stand out from the rest in their success. The first—and likely better known—is Neil O’Donnell, Pro Bowl quarterback for the Steelers, Jets, Bengals, and Titans. His name is found in multiple locations throughout MHS, including the banner in the gym displaying his membership in the basketball team’s thousand point club. The other, more storied athlete is Don Newcombe.
Donald “Newk” Newcombe was born to Roland and Sadie Newcombe on June 14, 1926. He was born on Locust Street, one of Madison’s predominantly black neighborhoods at the time. The Newcombe family was relatively large, with four sons and one daughter. Soon enough, the Newcombe family moved from the house on Locust Street to one on Morris Place. Don was introduced to baseball by his father, who often took Don and his brothers to Ruppert Stadium in Newark. There, each paid the 25¢ admission fee to watch either the Bears, a Yankees minor league affiliate, or the Eagles of the Negro National League.
Unlike O’Donnell, Newcombe’s name is found nowhere within the high school, as he did not attend MHS. The Newcombe family moved to Elizabeth shortly before high school, and Don attended Jefferson High School. This move shaped the path of his baseball career to be more unorthodox. Unlike Madison, Jefferson High School lacked a baseball team. In lieu of high school baseball, Newcombe played semi pro baseball with the Roselle Stars, providing a higher level of competition.
During his junior year, Newcombe dropped out to pursue a career as a baseball player. Making $170 a month ($3,000 today), he joined the Newark Eagles. In October 1945, he and teammate Roy Campanella were scouted by the Brooklyn Dodgers’ general manager, Branch Rickey, during an exhibition match. The duo were considered impressive enough to be part of the Dodgers’ second wave of integration (behind Jackie Robinson), and were recruited to play for a minor league affiliate in Nashua. Instead of being a Madison Dodger, he would be a Brooklyn Dodger. Jackie Robinson would become a mentor for Newcombe and Campanella, helping to brace the two for the racism they would face on their journey.
Newcombe was called to play in the majors in 1949 and pitched stellarly, leading the league in shutouts and coming second in strikeouts. His performance culminated in a Rookie of the Year win, the second African-American (behind Robinson) to win the award in its three years of existence. However much Newcombe was helped by the support of Campanella and Robinson, he returned the favor equally. Barely three years past integration, pitchers continued to try to hurt the Dodgers’ black players by aiming pitches at them. Newcombe, however, showed that the duo would have someone to retaliate for them, with a fastball that would brush back hitters and destroy the sense of security held by their racist opponents.
From 1949 to 1956, Newcombe pitched to a 3.41 ERA and a record of 112-48. The highlights of these seasons included being at the top of the league in strikeouts in 1951 and leading the Dodgers to a World Series as their star pitcher in 1955. He received MVP votes in 7 of these 8 years, culminating in being named the MVP (best player) and receiving the Cy Young Award (best pitcher) after winning 27 games in 1956.
Despite these accolades, Newcombe fell short of the Hall of Fame. After his 1956 season, his career began to fall apart. Off-field struggles caused a large drop in performance, leading to Newcombe being sent to Cincinnati and Cleveland. With more struggles there, he played in the Pacific Coast League, followed by Japan. In Japan, he was actually used as a first baseman for his hitting. However, he only played for one year, quickly retiring. In 1980, he dropped off of the Hall of Fame ballot due to his short career.
Why was Don Newcombe’s career cut so short? Three reasons stand out in blocking his path to the Hall of Fame. First, segregation prevented him from playing in the Major Leagues until 1949, losing two years of his prime that would have helped him make his case. Three years later, Newcombe lost another two years to a tour in the Korean War. Finally, the most difficult struggle began at the age of eight, when his father began sharing his home-brewed beer with his sons. Roland believed “it would help [Don] grow big and strong.” By age thirteen, Don was buying his own beer for himself.
Consistently drinking from such a young age, Newcombe developed an addiction, which was debilitating for his major league career. His teammates knew him to have a few drinks, however Newcombe himself revealed that “for many years, he was a stupefied, wife-abusing, child-frightening, falling-down drunk”. At one point, he pawned off his World Series ring to pay for more drinks. Dodger vice president Peter O’Malley bought it back for him, returning it in an envelope. When Newcombe opened the envelope, he broke down crying, realizing how far he had fallen.
Following his playing career, Newcombe continued to drink. In 1966, however, his wife Billie threatened to leave with the children if he did not quit, which successfully motivated him to give up drinking. Realizing what alcohol abuse had done to him, he began to work against it. Newcombe “created the Dodger Drug and Alcoholic Awareness Program in 1980 and became a consultant for the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, as well as director for special projects for the New Beginning Alcohol and Drug Treatment Program.” He continued working towards this cause until his death in 2019, at the age of 92.
In retrospect, Newcombe was a role model for many people worldwide in spite of his addiction. He helped break through the barriers of segregation, working against racism with his fastball. Martin Luther King Jr. once said that “What [Newcombe, Robinson, and Campanella] did on the baseball field made my job infinitely easier.” Additionally, Newcombe’s recovery from alcoholism provided hope for those struggling with addiction, while also working as a cautionary tale for young athletes. He has left behind a legacy that will not be easily forgotten.