To Field and Hit or Be Hit?

[clydepepper]

Lamar 'Skeeter' Newsome was a slick-fielding, light-hitting infielder who may have been the first Major Leaguer to wear a protective helmet during a league game.

Newsome graduated from Columbus (GA) High School in 1930, 44 years before I did and 54 years before Hall-of-Famer Frank Thomas did.

Here is an article on his protective helmet followed by part of the SABR Bio of him:


newsome.jpg

BASEBALL PLAYER WEARS PROTECTIVE HELMET

LAMAR NEWSOME, infielder of the Philadelphia American League baseball club, who was out of the line-up most of last year because of an injury he received when he was struck on the head by a ball, is shown at the left wearing a protective helmet under his regulation cap. Made of felt, crisscrossed on the top with reinforced strips of tape, the head protector is similar to those used in Australia by steeplechase jockeys to protect their skulls if they take a spill in a jump. The skull cushion is strong enough to absorb the shock of a thrown or batted ball, but light enough to be worn without discomfort. It is believed the idea may be adopted widely.



From SABR Bio:

(Connie) Mack reportedly called Newsome "the best fielding shortstop I have ever seen."

On April 9, 1938, Newsome hit a homer in an exhibition game, in Portsmouth, Virginia – and then got beaned his next time up, hit in the temple, knocked out cold, and was taken to the Naval Hospital for observation. This was a bad one, a fractured skull; he couldn't get into a game until July 24, when he pinch-ran in both halves of that day's doubleheader, and then didn't play again until September 4. He appeared in only 17 games all year long.

At the time, Connie Mack was a strong advocate for protective headgear. In Skeeter’s obituary, it was noted, "Newsome claimed that he was the first player to wear a batting helmet.

After being beaned in the head twice, the second time suffering serious injuries, Athletics manager Connie Mack wouldn't let Newsome return to action until he wore some type of head protection." He wore an aluminum helmet of some sort in late 1938, then a fiber helmet in 1939.