Joel Inez "Sailor" Newkirk (June 1, 1896 – January 22, 1966) was a

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

. He played for the Chicago Cubs."Joel Newkirk Statistics and History"
baseball-reference.com. Retrieved October 24, 2011.

Life

Newkirk was born in

Kyana, Indiana Kyana is an unincorporated community located on Indiana State Road 64 in Jackson Township, Dubois County, in the U.S. state of Indiana. History Kyana was platted in 1883. The town had its own zip code until 1980. The town was an outgrowth of the ...

, the son of Caleb Wilson Newkirk (1875-1945) and his wife, Sarah Florence (nee Ray) Newkirk (1878-1961). His younger brother is former Major League Baseball pitcher

Floyd Newkirk Floyd Elmo Newkirk (July 16, 1908 – April 15, 1976) nicknamed "Three-Fingers" was a Major League Baseball pitcher. Newkirk played for the New York Yankees in . In one career game, he had a 0–0 record, with a 0.00 ERA, pitching in only 1 in ...

. Joel served as a Boatswain Mate 1st Class in the United States Naval Reserve during World War I. This is likely what gave him the nickname "Sailor." He married Vivian Capitola Stiles (1900-1974) and they had one daughter, Betty Joel Newkirk Westfall (1921-1996). Newkirk is a descendant of Sergeant Elias Newkirk, who served in the American Revolutionary War, and whose family was among the earliest settlers to

Ulster County, New York Ulster County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. It is situated along the Hudson River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 181,851. The county seat is Kingston. The county is named after the Irish province of Ulster. History ...

. Elias's brother, Abraham, was a direct ancestor of Steve Comer, another Major League pitcher, and actor

Dash Mihok Dashiell Raymond Mihok (; born May 24, 1974) is an American actor and director best known for playing Brendan "Bunchy" Donovan in the Showtime drama '' Ray Donovan''. Early life Mihok was born in New York City, the son of theater actors Andrea ...

; this makes both Comer and Mihok 5th cousins, twice removed of Joel. Joel is buried at Wolf Creek Cemetery in

Eldorado, Illinois Eldorado () is a city in Saline County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,122 at the 2010 census, with a 1980 peak of 5,198. Although the city's name is spelled as if it were Spanish, the name was originally "Eldereado" or “Elder-Re ...

, where he passed away.

References

External links

1896 births 1966 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Chicago Cubs players Columbus Senators players Wichita Falls Spudders players Baseball players from Indiana {{US-baseball-pitcher-1890s-stub