The late Don Newcombe made his first visit to Danville, Illinois in 1983.
A Negro League star pitcher, Newcombe was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers five months after Jackie Robinson was signed by the franchise. Robinson was sent to a minor league team in Montreal.
Newcombe and catcher Roy Campanella were assigned to the Danville Dodgers Class A team – but the good folks of Danville wanted no part of integrated baseball. The Three-I League president threatened to shut Danville’s franchise down, rather than allow black ballplayers on the field.
Newcombe and Campanella were then shipped to Nashua, New Hampshire, where their respective Hall of Fame careers began.
Buzzie Bavasi, Nashua’s general manager, said, “If they can play ball better than what we have, we don’t care what color they are.”
“Nashua, in my memory, is one of the finest cities that I’ve been to in my lifetime. I say that because of the people and the way Roy Campanella and I were accepted there in 1946, when we had nowhere else to play in the entire Dodgers organization as black men,” Newcombe said in a 2006 interview on the L.A. Dodgers website.
“The city of Nashua and all of its people, including the president of the league, accepted us as if we were one of their own sons and I will forever be grateful to all of those people.”
Newcombe shared the story of Danville shunning him and Campanella with me, a first-year sports reporter for the Danville Commercial-News, in 1983.
Campanella was touring for Major League Baseball to discuss his story of his success and the evils of alcoholism that tormented him throughout his career.
His venue that evening was the Veterans Administration Hospital.
Tall and muscular, Newcombe was 58 at the time and he looked as though he could still pitch a few innings. But he shared his tragic story with a small audience that evening – one that contained admission of brutality to his wife.
“I would be drunk and would not even remember what I had done. Then I saw what I had done to my pretty wife Billie’s face in the morning. How I beat her,” he said.
He once described himself as “a stupefied, wife-abusing, child-frightening, falling-down drunk.”
Newcombe won a Rookie of the Year Award, Cy Young Award and MVP Award during a career soaked with booze.
“In 1956 I was the best player in baseball,” he told the L.A. Times. “Four years later, I was out of the major leagues, and it must have been the drinking.”
He had joined Alcoholics Anonymous in 1967 and in the 1970s re-joined the Dodgers franchise as director of community affairs. He still held that position during his trip to Danville.
The only pitcher to accomplish the feat of winning the Rookie of Year, Cy Young and MVP is Justin Verlander of the Houston Astros.
Imagine the stir it would cause today if he, shortly after he retires, he admitted that during his playing days he was an alcoholic that frequently beat his wife.
Stan Musial said Newcombe had the best fastball he ever faced. He remembered playing in St. Louis. During the interview I said I hailed from the St. Louis area. You should have seen the look on his face.
“I know times have changed. But St. Louis was a tough place to play. You know what I mean?” he said.
I think I told him, “It hasn’t changed that much.” We both laughed.
In his L.A. Times obituary is the story of Newcombe’s return to baseball in 1954 after serving two years in the Army during the Korean War.
On a trip to St. Louis, where the white players stayed at the elegant Chase (Park Plaza) Hotel, the black players were booked into a strictly black, non-air-conditioned flophouse.
“Here I’d served my country in the U.S. Army while my team had twice reached the World Series — costing me a lot of money — and I’m not allowed to stay at the same hotel as my white teammates!” Newcombe told the New York Post.
He and Robinson talked it over and went to the Chase.
They told the manager they wanted to join their teammates at the hotel.
Newcombe said that manager told them, “fellas, you can stay here, but I don’t want you swimming in the pool.”
Newcombe died last week at 92. He was the first Hall of Famer I interviewed, really the first athletic star that I examined through a lengthy article.
He left the game while his life was in shambles. He earned his good reputation back and leaves us with his head held high.
Nellie for President
Former Boston Celtic player and Golden State Warrior coach Don Nelson was honored last week by his former team and told the world what it really needs to hear in these divisive times.
Seated at a podium with former Warrior greats Jason Richardson and Stephen Jackson, Nelson was asked what he had been doing since retiring from coaching more than a decade ago.
“I’ve been smoking some pot,” he said with a smile.
The interview room erupts with laughter and applause. Jackson throws his arms up and bursts out laughing.
Actually, Nelson has copped to weed-smoking in the past year. He told the New York Times he grows a strain a marijuana called “Nellie Kush.”
“Oh, it’s great. Great stuff. It’s called Nellie Kush, Nelson said.
“It’s O.G. and Hindu Kush. Hindu Kush is really good. It comes from India and the guy that brought it over mixed the two of them, so we’ve got Nellie Kush now.”
He plays poker with a group including old head Willie Nelson, Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson. Yep, the Nellie Kush is fired up.
“I never smoked when I played or coached so it’s new to me. I’m doing that and I’m having a pretty good time. It’s more legal now than it’s ever been, so I’m enjoying that,” Nelson said last week.
It just shows that the NBA gets it. No former NFL head coach or MLB manager would admit to this lifestyle, even if they were partaking in smoking pot.
Is there any chance we could convince Nelson to run for president next year?
The Reid Roundup
Cardinals right fielder Dexter Fowler was hitless in his first Spring Training game and Tyler O’Neill hit a home run after entering in right field. This battle will determine if Fowler remains with the team … The Cardinals signed outfielder Jose Martinez to a two-year contract. He announced he would be sending money to his family in Venezuela, a nation suffering food and medical supplies … Marcell Ozuna has looked awful at the plate. Is he still hurt? … Manny Machado signed with the San Diego Padres instead of the Chicago White Sox. I think Machado don’t want none of a real city like Chicago … Do the Cardinals still have Bryce Harper’s telephone number? … LeBron James said he’s “activated” to make a push for the NBA Playoffs … James, who decided to join a young, inexperienced L.A. Lakers team, chastised teammates for being young an inexperienced last week … Patrick Barry, president of the Saint Louis Football Club of the United Soccer League (USL), said fans attending his team’s games will be vital to the city getting a MLS franchise. How’s that for marketing? Has anyone asked if the XFL made that mandated payment to the CVC in January?
Alvin A. Reid was honored as the 2017 “Best Sports Columnist – Weeklies” in the Missouri Press Association’s Better Newspaper Contest and is a New York Times contributor. He is a panelist on the Nine Network program, Donnybrook, a weekly contributor to “The Charlie Tuna Show” on KFNS and appears monthly on “The Dave Glover Show” on 97.1 Talk.” His Twitter handle is @aareid1.
