Heber Hampton Newsome (December 13, 1909 – December 15, 1965) was a

starting pitcher In baseball (hardball or softball), a starting pitcher or starter is the first pitcher in the game for each team. A pitcher is credited with a game started if they throw the first pitch to the opponent's first batter of a game. Starting pit ...

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

who played his entire career for the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...

between the and seasons. Listed at , 185 lb., Newsome batted and threw right-handed. A native of

Ahoskie, North Carolina Ahoskie ( )
, from the North Carolina Collection's website at the University of North Carolina at Ch ...

, he graduated from

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University (WFU) is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The R ...

. In his rookie year, Newsome won 19 games (third in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is the younger of two sports leagues, leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western L ...

) and compiled 10

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

s, leading a Red Sox pitching rotation that included

Charlie Wagner Charles Thomas Wagner (December 3, 1912 – August 31, 2006) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played his entire, 100-game career for the Boston Red Sox (1938–42, 1946). Nicknamed "Broadway," after his playing ...

Mickey Harris Maurice Charles "Mickey" Harris (January 30, 1917 – April 15, 1971) was an American professional baseball player. He was a pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) for nine seasons with the Boston Red Sox, Washington Senators, and Cleveland Ind ...

Joe Dobson Joseph Gordon Dobson (January 20, 1917 – June 23, 1994) was an American professional baseball player, a right-handed pitcher who appeared in Major League Baseball for the Cleveland Indians (1939–40), Boston Red Sox (1941–43; 1946–50; 1954 ...

and

Lefty Grove Robert Moses "Lefty" Grove (March 6, 1900 – May 22, 1975) was an American professional baseball pitcher. After having success in the minor leagues during the early 1920s, Grove became a star in Major League Baseball with the American League's ...

. He was considered for the MVP Award, ending ninth in the ballot. But Newsome slumped badly the next two years, winning only eight games in each of them. After the 1943 season, he served in the

Army An army, ground force or land force is an armed force that fights primarily on land. In the broadest sense, it is the land-based military branch, service branch or armed service of a nation or country. It may also include aviation assets by ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and then returned to his farm. In a three-season career, Newsome posted a 35–33 record with 138

strikeout In baseball or softball, a strikeout (or strike-out) occurs when a batter accumulates three strikes during a time at bat. It means the batter is out, unless the third strike is not caught by the catcher and the batter reaches first base safe ...

s and a 4.50

ERA An era is a span of time. Era or ERA may also refer to: * Era (geology), a subdivision of geologic time * Calendar era Education * Academy of European Law (German: '), an international law school * ERA School, in Melbourne, Australia * E ...

in 526.0

innings pitched In baseball, the statistic innings pitched (IP) is the number of innings a pitcher has completed, measured by the number of Batter (baseball), batters and baserunners that have been put out while the pitcher is on the Baseball field#Pitcher's mou ...

. Newsome died in an automobile accident in Ahoskie, North Carolina, just two days after he turned 56 years old.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newsome, Dick Boston Red Sox players Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from North Carolina Wake Forest University alumni Road incident deaths in North Carolina 1909 births 1965 deaths People from Ahoskie, North Carolina Greensboro Patriots players Houston Buffaloes players Rochester Red Wings players Springfield Cardinals players Sacramento Solons players San Diego Padres (minor league) players Portland Beavers players United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century American sportsmen