Eustace James Newton (October 26, 1877 – May 14, 1931) was an American

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) ...

(MLB)

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, who attempts to e ...

who played for several teams in both the

National League The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team ...

and

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

. He finished with a 54–72 win–loss record, a 3.22

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the numb ...

(ERA), and 99

complete game In baseball, a complete game (CG) is the act of a pitcher pitching an entire game without the benefit of a relief pitcher. A pitcher who meets this criterion will be credited with a complete game regardless of the number of innings played—pit ...

s. He had his best season in for Brooklyn, when he went 15–14 with a 2.42 ERA.

Early life

Newton was born in Indianapolis. An article in the Sporting Life magazine from April 1907 said he played

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played on the intercollegiate level at institutions of higher education. In comparison to football and basketball, college competition in the United States plays a smaller role in developing professional pl ...

for Morris Hall University, while others claim Morris Halo, or Morris Hale. The most likely match is Moores Hill College, a school that closed in 1915.

Career

Doc began his MLB career in when he played for the

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

. He was in the regular pitching rotation that first season, but finished with a 9–15 win–loss record, and 4.14 ERA. The season wasn't much better for Newton, as he began the same effectiveness as the previous season. After 20 games, his win–loss record was 4-13, and his ERA was 4.12. The Reds decided to release him from the team on July 13 of that season, and he was signed by the

Brooklyn Superbas The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the club moved to Los Angeles, Californ ...

three days later. Newton set the single-season NL record for errors by a pitcher (since 1900) with 17 for

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state lin ...

and

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

in 1901. With this new scenery, he pitched well to finish off that 1901 season, winning six games, and keeping his ERA a low 2.83. The season, still with Brooklyn, proved to be his best Major League season, as he had a 15–14 win–loss record, a 2.42 ERA, along with 26

s, and four

shutout In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball. Shutouts are usuall ...

s. Doc returned to the minors the following season, playing in the

Pacific Coast League The Pacific Coast League (PCL) is a Minor League Baseball league that operates in the Western United States. Along with the International League, it is one of two leagues playing at the Triple-A level, which is one grade below Major League Bas ...

in , and had two successful seasons, winning 34 games in the while pitching for the

Los Angeles Angels The Los Angeles Angels are an American professional baseball team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. Since 1966, the team ha ...

. During a stretch of two months, starting August 7, he won 11 games in a row, including a

no-hitter In baseball, a no-hitter is a game in which a team was not able to record a hit. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in at least nine innings recorded no hits. A pitcher w ...

on November 8 against the

Oakland Oaks Oakland Oaks may refer to one of the following sport teams, listed chronologically: * Oakland Oaks (PCL), a minor league baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1955 *Oakland Oaks (ice hockey), a professional ice hockey t ...

. It was the first no-hitter ever tossed in the PCL. Later, in 1904, he won 39 games. A researcher as uncovered another game in 1903 that, by the governing rules of the day, gives Newton an added victory in 1903, bringing his record up to 35–12. On October 4, , the

New York Highlanders The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

selected Newton the Rule 5 draft. He pitched well, just not well enough to win games on a regular basis. His ERAs were low during his time in New York, 2.96, but his win–loss records did not match it, 20–25. His

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities ...

in New York,

Clark Griffith Clark Calvin Griffith (November 20, 1869 – October 27, 1955), nicknamed "The Old Fox", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) pitcher, manager and team owner. He began his MLB playing career with the St. Louis Browns (1891), Boston Reds ...

, said that the Highlanders failed to win the pennant because of Newton's lack of physical conditioning; Newton had been suspended mid-season for

dissipation In thermodynamics, dissipation is the result of an irreversible process that takes place in homogeneous thermodynamic systems. In a dissipative process, energy (internal, bulk flow kinetic, or system potential) transforms from an initial form ...

Post-career

Newton died in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the County seat, seat of Shelby County, Tennessee, Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 Uni ...

, at the age of 53, and is interred at

Crown Hill Cemetery Crown Hill Cemetery is a historic rural cemetery located at 700 West 38th Street in Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. The privately owned cemetery was established in 1863 at Strawberry Hill, whose summit was renamed "The Crown", a high poi ...

in Indianapolis.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Newton, Doc 1877 births 1931 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Baseball players from Indianapolis Cincinnati Reds players Brooklyn Superbas players New York Highlanders players Burials at Crown Hill Cemetery Minor league baseball managers Norfolk Jewels players Reading Coal Heavers players Indianapolis Hoosiers (minor league) players Los Angeles Angels (minor league) players Portland Browns players Montreal Royals players Newark Indians players Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) players Memphis Turtles players Memphis Chickasaws players Chattanooga Lookouts players 19th-century baseball players Tifton Tilters players