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

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 ...

(MLB)

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), 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 played for several teams in both the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

and

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 ...

. 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 number ...

(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—pitche ...

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 by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

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. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

. 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 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brookl ...

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

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

and

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

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 (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. 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 (baseball), Triple-A level, which is one grade bel ...

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 Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Angels compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, ...

. 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 or no-hit game is a game in which a team does not record a hit (baseball), hit through conventional methods. Major League Baseball (MLB) officially defines a no-hitter as a completed game in which a team that batted in ...

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 te ...

. 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 ...

selected Newton the

Rule 5 draft The Rule 5 draft is a Major League Baseball (MLB) player draft that occurs each year in December, at the annual Winter Meeting of general managers. The Rule 5 draft aims to prevent teams from stockpiling too many young players on their minor lea ...

. 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 organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

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 Re ...

, 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 affects a thermodynamic system. In a dissipative process, energy ( internal, bulk flow kinetic, or system potential) transforms from an initial form to a final form, wh ...

Post-career

Newton died in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, 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 19th-century American sportsmen Tifton Tilters players