Bobo Newsom Louis Norman Newsom Bats Right Throws Right Height 6'3 Weight 200 Born August 11, 1907 Hartsville, SC Died December 7, 1962 Orlando, FL

Pitching  

 Year Ag Tm    W   L  PCT.  SV   G  GS  CG SHO    IP     H    R   ER   BB   SO  HR  ERA  lgERA ERA+
+-----------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+-----+----+
 1930 22 PAW   0   0  .000   0   1   0   0   0    0.1    1    0    0    1    0   0  0.00  4.27  inf  
 1934    PAW   1   7  .125   0  14  11   1   1   75.2   89   65   52   38   34   7  6.18             
 1934    HAR   9   3  .750   0  15  15   4   0  116.1  108   53   47   50   53   4  3.64             
 1934 26 TOT  10  10  .500   0  29  26   5   1  192.0  197  118   99   88   87  11  4.64  4.54   98  
 1935 27 HAR   3   3  .500   1  44   8   2   0  127.1  139   65   59   49   57   9  4.17  4.16  100  

 1936 28 HAR   7  14  .333   0  31  26   6   0  173.2  188  100   77   65   85  11  3.99  4.32  108  
 1937 29 HAR   4   2  .667   4  17   1   0   0   28.1   24   16   13   14   21   4  4.13  4.28  104  
 1938 30 HAR   3   2  .600   0  20   0   0   0   40.0   29   13   12   20   42   3  2.70  4.28  159  
 1939 31 HAR  17  11  .607   0  41  41   6   2  285.2  273  114  101  103  184  11  3.18  4.19  132  
 1940 32 HAR  18   7  .720   0  39  38   8   2  271.2  233  115   94   93  173  23  3.11  4.26  137  

 1941 33 HAR  13  12  .520   0  41  41   1   1  235.0  234   97   88  108  221  10  3.37  4.22  125  
 1942 34 HAR   2   2  .500   2  15   2   0   0   28.1   30   18   14   19   26   3  4.45  4.04   91  
 1943 35 HAR   5   5  .500   2  24   9   2   0   71.0   84   46   37   27   43   8  4.69  4.08   87  
 1944 36 HAR  13  13  .500   0  42  38   5   2  240.2  248  111  100   65  178  25  3.74  4.32  116  
 1945 37 HAR  19   6  .760   0  38  38  10   1  255.0  281  123  114   97  113  18  4.02  3.94   98  

 1946 38 HAR  11   9  .550   0  31  29   7   1  193.2  213   96   90   64  111  14  4.18  3.97   95  
 1947 39 HAR   6  19  .240   0  40  35   2   1  190.0  242  125  109   55  100  18  5.16  4.63   90  
 1952 44 MON   0   1  .000   0   1   1   0   0    5.0    4    6    3    3    2   0  5.40  4.02   74  
+-----------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+-----+----+
 16 Seasons  131 116  .533   9 454 333  54  11 2337.2 2420 1163 1010  871 1443 168  3.89  4.22  109   
+-----------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+-----+----+
 154 Gm  Avg  11  10  .533   1  37  28   4   1  193.0  200   96   83   72  119  14  3.89 
 Career High  19  19  .760   4  44  41  10   2  285.2  281  123  114  108  221  25  3.11            
+-----------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+-----+----+
 2 Yrs.  PAW   1   7  .125   0  15  11   1   1   76.0   90   65   52   39    0   0  6.16  4.27   69  
14 Yrs.  HAR 130 108  .546   9 438 321  53  11 2256.2 2326 1092  955  829 1407 161  3.81  4.22  111  
 1 Yr.   MON   0   1  .000   0   1   1   0   0    5.0    4    6    3    3    2   0  5.40  4.02   74  
+-----------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+------+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+-----+----+
 Year Ag Tm    W   L  PCT.  SV   G  GS  CG SHO    IP     H    R   ER   BB   SO  HR  ERA  lgERA ERA+

Shaded Text indicates partial season results.

Postseason Pitching

 
 Year Tm  OPP WLser   W   L  PCT.  SV   G  GS  CG SHO    IP    H    R   ER   BB   SO  HR   ERA  
+------------------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+-----+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+
 1939 HAR STL   W     1   1  .500   0   2   2   1   0  13.1   16    8    5    5    6   0  3.38
 1941 HAR MUS   L     0   1  .000   0   2   2   0   0  11.2   12    7    7    7   15   1  5.40
 1943 HAR NDA   L     0   0  .000   0   2   0   0   0   3.2    5    3    1    0    2   0  2.45
 1945 HAR NDA   L     1   0 1.000   0   2   1   1   0   9.1    9    3    3    4    5   1  2.89
+------------------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+-----+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+
               1-3    2   2  .500   0   8   5   2   0  38.0   42   21   16   16   28   2  3.79
+------------------+---+---+-----+---+---+---+---+---+-----+----+----+----+----+----+---+-----+


WLser shows whether the player's team Won or Lost the series.

Appearances on Leaderboards and Awards  

Stats are Year-Value-Rank

ERA 1939-3.18-4 1940-3.11-4 1941-3.37-5

Wins 1939-17-4 1940-18-3 1944-13-8 1945-19-1

Strikeouts 1939-184-2 1940-173-2 1941-221-1 1944-178-3 1945-113-6

Complete Games 1945-10-9 1946-7-6

Innings Pitched 1939-285.2-2 1940-271.2-1 1941-235.0-3 1944-240.2-3 1945-255.0-5

Walks 1934-88-2 1939-103-4 1940-93-6 1941-108-3 1945-97-6

Losses 1936-14-9 1944-13-6 1947-19-1

Pitcher of the Month, August 1941

Transactions January 1, 1929: Drafted 4th round (29th overall) by Harlem. June 15, 1934: Traded by Pawtucket Al Smith, Snipe Hansen and Huck Betts to Harlem for Silas Johnson, Watty Clark, General Crowder and Red Lucas. January 1, 1952: Signed as a Free Agent by Montgomery.

Biography Born Louis Newsom in South Carolina in 1907, right-hander “Bobo” changed teams a record 17 times in his 20-year career, in route to 200 wins and World Series heroics. Newsom came from a small town in South Carolina, and was just a “good ole boy” who could pitch. The 6'3 200 pound 22-year old came up with Brooklyn in 1929.From there, his travelogue began. He went to the Cubs in 1932, and then to the Browns, where he lost 20 games in 1934. In 1935, he split time between the Browns and Washington, and wound up with his second straight season leading the AL in losses with 18. Come 1936, he started the season with Washington, was sent to the Red Sox, then back to the Browns, and then to Detroit, in 1939. With the Tigers, he was an important cog in the 1940 pennant winning team, compiling a 21-5 record and garnering him his 3rd straight 20-win season. He missed two weeks of the 1940 season when he fell in the dugout and hurt his back. But a personal tragedy in 1940 was even worse. Shortly after Game 4 in the 1940 World Series, Newsom's dad, having traveled from South Carolina to see his son pitch in the World Series, died. Newsom bravely went out and threw a 8-0 three-hitter in Game 5. In the decisive Game 7, Newsom, pitching on one day's rest, fell 2-1 to the Reds as the Tigers lost the World Series. But the story of Newsom is not his pitching, it is the legacy of Bobo. On opening day in 1936, Newsom, starting for Washington against the Yankees, watched a slow-hit chopper towards third baseman Ossie Bluege. Newsom, in awe from Bluege's ability to bare-hand the ball and fire across the infield, forgot to duck and the ball slammed into his face, breaking his jaw. After running around and crying in pain, he collapsed and was out cold. Once revived, Newsom finished the game, grabbing a 1-0 win over Lefty Gomez. Another time, while with the Cubs, Bobo was driving through the Smoky Mountains on his way to Chicago and fell asleep at the wheel. His car ran off a cliff and careened 250 feet down a mountain, breaking his leg. Once he recovered, he headed back to Chicago. On the way, he was sidetracked by a mule auction just off the highway. While trying to make a deal with a farmer for a four-legged working animal, the mule let fly a healthy kick and re-broke the leg. Outfielder Earl Averill has known for hitting line drives right back through the box. Dizzy Dean knew this, as did Newsom. Newsom and Averill had been trading barbs during a game, and Averill challenged Newsom to throw it outside. Newsom did, and Averill responded by rifling it off the hurler's kneecap. Newsom grabbed the ball and threw Averill out at first, but he sat on the mound crying in pain. His teammates just laughed at him, thinking Ole Bobo was only playing. Enraged, Newsom went out and completed the game, a 5-4 loss. Afterwards, X-rays revealed his kneecap was shattered and Newsom missed 5 weeks. Another story deals with Newsom's teammate George Case. Case was recovering from a shoulder injury, and was ready to return to the line-up. Newsom came in from the mound, enjoying his fine pitching performance. “Did you say how I struck that last guy out, George?” he said to Case as he slapped him on the back. Unfortunately, that back slap dislocated Case's shoulder again, and he was out for the season. Another example of Newsom's lunacy comes from Hall of Famer Charlie Gehringer, in a December 1986 interview with author Richard Bak. "It's a hot day, he's got two strikes on Hank (Greenberg), and all of a sudden he just walks off the mound. He didn't even give the umpire a sign or anything. Just took off for the dugout. Everybody said, 'Well, where's he going?' Bobo goes into the dugout, and we see him going over to a big pail of water, and he's washing his face and he's toweling off. All this time, Greenberg's just waiting, probably thinking Bobo had hurt himself. Finally, after he's all washed up and dried off, Bobo trots out and throws one strike and Greenberg's out." Newsom was also very superstitious. He would never tie his own shoes, sometimes standing in the middle of the locker room for an hour waiting for someone to tie his spikes. He also would not pitch if there were scraps of paper on the mound. After 1940, Newsom never won 20 games in a season again, but was still a very colorful character. When he finished his career in 1953, while with his fifth stint with the Senators, Newsom had 211 career wins, matched with 222 losses and an ERA of 3.98. He also had played on 18 teams, nine major league, and nine minor league teams. Newsom died in 1962 at the age of 55.