TTM Success - Don Newcombe

I was watching the opening game of the NLCS and saw that Don Newcombe threw out the first pitch.  I got to thinking about it, and checked to see if he signed TTM.  I saw that he signed at $20.00/card, so I made sure to pick up this nice 1954 Bowman.

Newcombe is one of my favorite former players to listen to when he is being interviewed.  He is a huge part of baseball history, and adding his autograph to my album is great.  This is a really nice card, and looks great signed.

Newcombe (b. 1926) played in the majors from 1949 to 1951 and 1954 to 1960 for the Dodgers (Brooklyn and LA), Reds and Indians.  He had a career record of 149-90 with 1,129 strikeouts and an ERA of 3.56.  He was the NL Rookie of the Year in 1949 and the NL MVP in 1956.  Also, that season, he was the first ever Cy Young Award winner with a 27-7 record and 3.06 ERA.

He was a 4-time All Star (1949, 1950, 1951 and 1955) and won the World Series with the Dodgers in 1955.  Newcombe appeared on the NL MVP ballot 5 times.  He was a 20-game winner three times in his career.

I mailed to Newcombe on October 14 and got the card back on October 24, for a 10-day TAT.  I paid his fee of $20.00/card.  The $20.00 was actually a birthday gift from my grandma, so essentially, she got me this auto!  Thanks, Grandma!

COMC Pickup - 1959 Topps Don Newcombe

I picked up another set need with my recent COMC purchase, this time landing a Don Newcombe card out of 1959 Topps.

Newcombe is a personal favorite of mine, especially when he is brought onto XM Radio to talk about those old Dodgers teams that he played on with Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella.

Something cool about the card, which I may have pointed out on some other 1950s cards, is the reference to the Cincinnati Redlegs.  This card came out during the McCarthy Era of US History when the Red Scare was at its height.  So as to not be associated with the Communists, the Reds team would be referred to as the Redlegs during this era.  I'm not going to delve into politics at all, but I do find it interesting to see this part of American History manifested on a baseball card.

Autographed Baseball - Don Newcombe

I picked up this baseball sometime last year and for some reason never got it posted. Here it is, Dodger great Don Newcombe. He was the first ever Cy Young Award winner and the only major leaguer to have won the Rookie of the Year, Cy Young Award and MVP. Newcombe was born in 1926 and played from 1949 to 1951 and 1954 to 1960 for the Dodgers, Reds and Indians. He had a career record of 149-90 with an ERA of 3.56 and 1,129 strikeouts. He is interviewed all the time on XM radio and whenever he is on, I turn it up because his stories are great.