On July 17, 1960, Don Newcombe, then pitching for the Cincinnati Reds, took the mound at Forbes Field against the Pittsburgh Pirates. While he was completing his warmups, Newcombe got in a beef with umpire Dusty Boggess, who objected to a flapping sleeve on the shirt that Newcombe was wearing under his jersey. Told to correct the problem, Newcombe flew into a tizzy and was ejected from the game.

In those days, many bettors learned the fates of their wagers in the next day’s newspaper. Newcombe’s name appeared in the box score. For major league record-keeping purposes, he was credited with starting the game. However, he hadn’t thrown a pitch, muddling the disposition of bets.

During the 1960 campaign, nobody in the sports betting community was more esteemed than Charles K. McNeil. A mathematical genius credited with inventing football teasers, McNeil was getting up in years. However, he was still loosely connected to the vibrant Chicago betting scene. The elder statesman of America’s bookmakers, McNeil was the man that bookies looked to for guidance when there was a betting dispute.

Was Newcombe the official starting pitcher for betting purposes? His name was listed on the lineup card submitted to the umpires, his name appeared in the box score, and the game was a half-inning old when his team was forced to make a pitching change. However, the fact remained that he hadn’t thrown a single pitch.

McNeil ultimately ruled that Newcombe WAS NOT Cincinnati’s starting pitcher. The game was deemed “no action” for those that stipulated “listed pitchers” when making their wagers, which was virtually everyone that had a hefty wager on the game. Some bookies would have undoubtedly offered a refund regardless of McNeil’s determination. This was good public relations.

McNeil’s ruling was that a man must throw at least one pitch. By something of a process of osmosis, the ruling became formalized. When this incident happens again, as is inevitable, bookies and regulators won’t need to hold a summit because the matter has already been addressed.

It’s a fair guess that Newcombe was thin-skinned because he was fighting a hangover. Alcoholism prematurely ended his career. The Reds released him after his tantrum. He resurfaced with the Indians and then played out the string as a struggling first baseman in Japan.

It seems strange that Newcombe never came close to earning a ticket to Cooperstown. He played only 10 seasons, but lost two years of his prime to the Army during the Korean War.

One of the rubs against Newcombe is that he choked in the clutch. The Dodgers could have forced a playoff against the Phillies in 1950, but Newcombe surrendered a three-run home run to Philadelphia’s Dick Sisler in the 10th inning of the final regular season game.

The next year, in the deciding game of the playoffs, he failed to protect a 4-2 lead with the Dodgers three outs away from winning the pennant. The two runners he left on base both scored when Ralph Branca served up a gopher ball to Bobby Thomson.

In defense of Newcombe, the Dodgers would not have come painfully close in either season if he hadn’t come up big in September. Newcombe’s performance against the Phils on Sept. 6, 1950 was positively heroic. Starting both games of a doubleheader, he allowed only two runs in 16 innings. The Dodgers won both games.

We have heard it said of an athlete that he had the misfortune of being born too soon. It strikes us that Newcombe hurt his legacy by being born a tad too late He played only one season in the Negro Leagues. That marginalized him when the portals of Cooperstown were opened to players from the Jim Crow era.

Newcombe’s numbers, at least in our mind, put him on the Hall of Fame bubble. We would argue that a “bubble player” merits special consideration if he gives something back to the game after retirement.

The saga of Don Newcombe had a happy ending. He conquered his drinking problem and went on to become the first full-time alcoholism counselor in professional sports. Today, at age 79, he’s still spreading his message. In the current Los Angeles Dodgers directory, he is listed as the director of community relations.

So let’s hear it for Big Newk. And let’s always remember to list pitchers when making a baseball wager. Someday the “Don Newcombe Rule” may redound to our favor.