Jimmie Wilson
October 8, 1940: Game 7 of the World Series is played at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Paul Derringer of the Cincinnati Reds and Alva "Bobo" Newsom of the Detroit Tigers get into a pitchers' duel, and the Tigers lead 1-0 in the bottom of the 7th.
But leadoff doubles by Frank McCormick and Jimmy Ripple tie the score, followed by a sacrifice bunt and Billy Myers' sacrifice fly, for the run that wins the game and the Series, 2-1 to Cincinnati. The game lasts just 1 hour and 47 minutes.
The Reds' Bill McKechnie becomes the 1st manager to win a World Series with 2 different teams. "The Deacon" also piloted the Pirates to the 1925 World Championship.
With NL batting champion Ernie Lombardi injured down the stretch, and backup catcher Willard Hershberger becoming (as far as can be proven) the only big-leaguer ever to commit suicide during the season -- slashing his throat on in a Boston hotel room during a roadtrip on August 3 -- 40-year-old coach Jimmie Wilson was signed to a playing contract, and was one of the factors in this World Series. So was an injury to Tiger star Hank Greenberg.
With NL batting champion Ernie Lombardi injured down the stretch, and backup catcher Willard Hershberger becoming (as far as can be proven) the only big-leaguer ever to commit suicide during the season -- slashing his throat on in a Boston hotel room during a roadtrip on August 3 -- 40-year-old coach Jimmie Wilson was signed to a playing contract, and was one of the factors in this World Series. So was an injury to Tiger star Hank Greenberg.
Newsom, a native of Hartsville, South Carolina, was one of the great characters of the game, wearing out his welcome multiple times. He started his career with the Brooklyn Dodgers' "Daffiness Boys" in 1929, and spent most of the 1932 season in the minor leagues, though he made 1 appearance for the Chicago Cubs, who on the NL Pennant. They did not include him on their World Series roster.
He had started and won Game 1, with his father in attendance. But his father died during the Series. Before Game 5, Newsom said, "I'll win this one for my Daddy," and he did. Tiger manager Del Baker risked him on short rest for Game 7, he was asked by reporters, "will you win this one for your Daddy too?" He said, "Why, no, I think I'll win this one for old Bobo." "Old Bobo" was 33 years old, and while he went the distance and held a back-to-back Pennant-winning team to 2 runs, it was in defeat.
Bobo Newsom
Newsom ended up pitching for 9 of the 16 franchises then in the major leagues, including 4 separate tenures with the Washington Seantors, 3 with the St. Louis Browns, and 2 each with the Dodgers and the Philadelphia Athletics, with whom he closed his career in 1953. He did win a World Series, with the New York Yankees in 1947. They obtained him from the Senators in midseason, and he went 7-5 for them down the stretch, starting and losing Game 3 of the Series, at the age of 39.
He finished with a career record of 211-222, with a 3.98 ERA and 2,082 strikeouts. That included 2 20-win seasons for the Browns, and 21 for the Tigers in the 1940 regular season. That suggests that, had he spent most of his career with good teams, he would have had more batting support and a lot more wins. He drank himself to death in 1962, only 55 years old.
In
1949, Ogden Nash, my grandmother's favorite poet, wrote "Line-Up for
Yesterday" for Sport magazine, an alphabetical list of
star players. For the letter N, he honored Newsom, the only player he mentioned who was still active, and the only one who ended up not making the Hall of Fame. He wrote:
N is
for Newsom,
Bobo's favorite kin.
You ask how he's here,
He talked himself in.
The Tigers bounced back from their 1940 defeat, and won the Series again 5 years later. The Reds would need another 35 years, going 0-for-3 in World Series play, 5-12 in games, before triumphing in 1975.
UPDATE: The Reds have a team Hall of Fame. Elected from this 1940 team have been 1st baseman Frank McCormick, 2nd baseman Lonny Frey, shortstop Billy Myers, 3rd baseman Billy Werber, left fielder Mike McCormick, center fielder Harry Craft, right fielder Ival Goodman, catcher Ernie Lombardi; pitchers Bucky Walters, Paul Derringer and Johnny Vander Meer; manager Bill McKechnie, and general manager Warren Giles. But team owner and ballpark namesake Powel Crosley has not been inducted.
*
October 8, 1940 was a Tuesday. Football was in midweek. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. And the NHL season started over a month later. So there were no other scores on this historic day.
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