Thursday, April 24, 2008

#101 Fred Newman

Card number three from reader Ed is another Angel. Has any team had a greater identity crisis than the Los Angeles/California/Anaheim/Los Angeles of Anaheim Angels? All of the commotion about the team's hometown is only further complicated by the fact that they played their home games in 1961 at Wrigley Field! (Obviously, it was another stadium in L. A. that shared a name with the Cubs' home field.)

Signed out of nearby Brookline High School as an amateur free agent by the Red Sox, Fred Newman was taken by the Los Angeles Angels in the expansion draft less than a year later. Fred is looking rather baby-faced in this photo, most likely because he was twenty-two in 1964. Newman's best pitch may have been his sinker, and he was known for his excellent control, which helped him win 13 games in 1964, his first full season in the majors. He sported a 2.75 ERA and allowed less than a hit per inning. He was just as good the following year, allowing just .86 hits per inning and posting a 2.93 ERA. The finest game of his career may have been a 5-0 victory over the Twins on June 30, 1965, in which he allowed just two hits and one walk while going the distance. However, the Angels' quiet bats handed him several tough-luck losses, and he finished with a 14-16 record.
Unfortunately, arm troubles brought Fred's promising young career to a premature end two years and 24 games later. His life game to a similarly premature conclusion, as he died in a car accident in 1987 at the age of 45.

4 comments:

  1. There is a character actor who looks just like this guy but for the life of me I can't come up with his name. I can see him clear as day in my mind. It'll hit me in the middle of the night. ;-(

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  2. Good blog.

    Suggestion: Please scan the backs of these cards also, you are missing out on a lot of things & history about these cards by not doing that.

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  3. Bruno Kirby. I just remembered who it was this guy reminded me of. LOL

    Bruno at IMDB

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  4. I have Fred Newman #101 in excellent condition. Surprised to see it here. Anyone remember Carl Yastrzemski? What about Roger Maris 1960 MVP card? mr_chavarry@yahoo.com

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