Bear-Arms
Mentor
BY MIKE BERARDINO. Mike Berardino is a columnist for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, a Tribune Co. newspaper
Published August 27, 2005
Dozens of custom-made T-shirts and caps are boxed up in Tom Sabellico's Farmingdale, N.Y., office.
An impressive black logo is emblazoned across the front of each item: "12 Black Aces."
The reference is to the 12 African-American pitchers to post 20-win seasons in the major leagues. The plan was to distribute these shirts and caps this off-season in conjunction with a new book Sabellico is co-authoring with Jim "Mudcat" Grant, one of the 12.
All proceeds will be split among charity, the 10 living members of the club and the estates of the two aces who have died. Now along comes Dontrelle Willis, threatening to render the logo obsolete.
If the Marlins left-hander wins Saturday afternoon in Chicago, he won't just tie Carl Pavano's franchise mark with his 18th win this season. Willis would move within two wins of becoming the 13th American-born black pitcher to join the 20-win club.
Willis should get eight more starts before the regular season ends Oct. 2.
"We've been following that kind of closely, as you can imagine," Sabellico says from his Long Island office. "If Dontrelle wins 20, it will be great. It will draw attention to the aces. It's been a long time."
Not since Dave Stewart completed his four-year run of 20-win seasons in 1990 has a black pitcher accomplished the feat. No black lefty has won that many in a single season since Vida Blue in 1975.
The members of the club would run into each other at card shows and at various ballparks, but nothing formal was in place until about five years ago. That's when Grant, who went 21-7 with the Twins in 1965, came up with the idea for the 12 Black Aces.
Most of the aces appeared in Binghamton, N.Y., last fall at a golf outing to benefit the local Urban League. In October, they are scheduled to attend a golf outing in Canada to benefit the foundation of Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins, a seven-time 20-game winner.
Their next large-scale gathering could come next month. Sabellico and Grant, who turned 70 this month, have discussed the importance of having as many Black Aces as possible in attendance when Willis goes for his 20th win.
"Mudcat is very excited about it," says Sabellico, who is running for political office in Nassau County. "We're not worried about logos or anything. We're all pulling for Dontrelle to do it."
Win No. 20 could come as soon as Sept. 7 in Washington. Or it could happen Sept. 12 in Houston or Sept. 17 in Miami.
Whenever it happens, several of the aces plan to attend.
"Absolutely," Blue, 56, was saying this week from San Francisco, where he does some work in the Giants community relations department. "That would be cool to provide Dontrelle support."
Former Dodgers great Don Newcombe, at 78, is the oldest living member of the club.
The oldest black pitcher to win 20 games for the first time was Sam "Toothpick" Jones, an ex-Negro Leaguer who was 33 when he did it in 1959 with the Giants. Jones died in 1971, and Earl Wilson died earlier this year.
Willis, 23, would become the third-youngest pitcher to make the club. Dwight Gooden was 20 when he went 24-4 in 1985, and Blue was 22 when he went 24-8 in 1971.
The other members are Bob Gibson, Al Downing, J.R. Richard and Mike Norris. All of the members have an ownership stake in the group and a say in the direction of the Black Aces Foundation, which seeks to rekindle baseball interest in the inner cities.
"The first thing is it's an Afro-American club," Stewart says. "It's something special for us as a people. You know what I'm saying? Second thing, just winning 20 games doesn't happen that often, especially today. This is really, really special for Dontrelle."
Tempting as it is, Willis tries not to imagine what it would be like to be the newest member of the Black Aces.
"It would be a high honor, most definitely," Willis says. "That's a major feat for anybody. Me being an African-American, it would definitely be a high honor because there's so few of us that have done the feat. It's definitely a prestigious group."
Willis' strong season is especially noteworthy considering the dearth of black starting pitchers active in the majors. He joins Shawn Chacon, C.C. Sabathia, Jerome Williams and Edwin Jackson on a list that is far too short.
"We're making it known this is a unique thing for all of us," Blue says. "We're trying to put this thing on the map as far as what this stands for."
As for Sabellico, he doesn't want to jinx the Marlins' ace, but he has made arrangements for a new logo. Not to mention a new book cover.
"I've got my graphic artists already working on it," he says with a laugh.
Make way for the 13th Black Ace.
- - -
Dozen aces
Here's a chronological list of African-American pitchers to win 20 games in a season in the majors:
PITCHER YEAR (REC.)
Don Newcombe 1951 (20-9)
1955 (20-5)
1956 (27-7)
Sam Jones 1959 (21-15)
Bob Gibson 1965 (20-12)
1966 (21-12)
1968 (22-9)
1969 (20-13)
1970 (23-7)
Jim Grant 1965 (21-7)
Earl Wilson 1967 (22-11)
Ferguson Jenkins 1967 (20-13)
1968 (20-15)
1969 (21-15)
1970 (22-16)
1971 (24-13)
1972 (20-12)
1974 (25-12)
Al Downing 1971 (20-9)
Vida Blue 1971 (24-8)
1973 (20-9)
1975 (22-11)
J.R. Richard 1976 (20-15)
Mike Norris 1980 (22-9)
Dwight Gooden 1985 (24-4)
Dave Stewart 1987 (20-13)
1988 (21-12)
1989 (21-9)
1990 (22-11)
Source
Published August 27, 2005
Dozens of custom-made T-shirts and caps are boxed up in Tom Sabellico's Farmingdale, N.Y., office.
An impressive black logo is emblazoned across the front of each item: "12 Black Aces."
The reference is to the 12 African-American pitchers to post 20-win seasons in the major leagues. The plan was to distribute these shirts and caps this off-season in conjunction with a new book Sabellico is co-authoring with Jim "Mudcat" Grant, one of the 12.
All proceeds will be split among charity, the 10 living members of the club and the estates of the two aces who have died. Now along comes Dontrelle Willis, threatening to render the logo obsolete.
If the Marlins left-hander wins Saturday afternoon in Chicago, he won't just tie Carl Pavano's franchise mark with his 18th win this season. Willis would move within two wins of becoming the 13th American-born black pitcher to join the 20-win club.
Willis should get eight more starts before the regular season ends Oct. 2.
"We've been following that kind of closely, as you can imagine," Sabellico says from his Long Island office. "If Dontrelle wins 20, it will be great. It will draw attention to the aces. It's been a long time."
Not since Dave Stewart completed his four-year run of 20-win seasons in 1990 has a black pitcher accomplished the feat. No black lefty has won that many in a single season since Vida Blue in 1975.
The members of the club would run into each other at card shows and at various ballparks, but nothing formal was in place until about five years ago. That's when Grant, who went 21-7 with the Twins in 1965, came up with the idea for the 12 Black Aces.
Most of the aces appeared in Binghamton, N.Y., last fall at a golf outing to benefit the local Urban League. In October, they are scheduled to attend a golf outing in Canada to benefit the foundation of Hall of Fame pitcher Ferguson Jenkins, a seven-time 20-game winner.
Their next large-scale gathering could come next month. Sabellico and Grant, who turned 70 this month, have discussed the importance of having as many Black Aces as possible in attendance when Willis goes for his 20th win.
"Mudcat is very excited about it," says Sabellico, who is running for political office in Nassau County. "We're not worried about logos or anything. We're all pulling for Dontrelle to do it."
Win No. 20 could come as soon as Sept. 7 in Washington. Or it could happen Sept. 12 in Houston or Sept. 17 in Miami.
Whenever it happens, several of the aces plan to attend.
"Absolutely," Blue, 56, was saying this week from San Francisco, where he does some work in the Giants community relations department. "That would be cool to provide Dontrelle support."
Former Dodgers great Don Newcombe, at 78, is the oldest living member of the club.
The oldest black pitcher to win 20 games for the first time was Sam "Toothpick" Jones, an ex-Negro Leaguer who was 33 when he did it in 1959 with the Giants. Jones died in 1971, and Earl Wilson died earlier this year.
Willis, 23, would become the third-youngest pitcher to make the club. Dwight Gooden was 20 when he went 24-4 in 1985, and Blue was 22 when he went 24-8 in 1971.
The other members are Bob Gibson, Al Downing, J.R. Richard and Mike Norris. All of the members have an ownership stake in the group and a say in the direction of the Black Aces Foundation, which seeks to rekindle baseball interest in the inner cities.
"The first thing is it's an Afro-American club," Stewart says. "It's something special for us as a people. You know what I'm saying? Second thing, just winning 20 games doesn't happen that often, especially today. This is really, really special for Dontrelle."
Tempting as it is, Willis tries not to imagine what it would be like to be the newest member of the Black Aces.
"It would be a high honor, most definitely," Willis says. "That's a major feat for anybody. Me being an African-American, it would definitely be a high honor because there's so few of us that have done the feat. It's definitely a prestigious group."
Willis' strong season is especially noteworthy considering the dearth of black starting pitchers active in the majors. He joins Shawn Chacon, C.C. Sabathia, Jerome Williams and Edwin Jackson on a list that is far too short.
"We're making it known this is a unique thing for all of us," Blue says. "We're trying to put this thing on the map as far as what this stands for."
As for Sabellico, he doesn't want to jinx the Marlins' ace, but he has made arrangements for a new logo. Not to mention a new book cover.
"I've got my graphic artists already working on it," he says with a laugh.
Make way for the 13th Black Ace.
- - -
Dozen aces
Here's a chronological list of African-American pitchers to win 20 games in a season in the majors:
PITCHER YEAR (REC.)
Don Newcombe 1951 (20-9)
1955 (20-5)
1956 (27-7)
Sam Jones 1959 (21-15)
Bob Gibson 1965 (20-12)
1966 (21-12)
1968 (22-9)
1969 (20-13)
1970 (23-7)
Jim Grant 1965 (21-7)
Earl Wilson 1967 (22-11)
Ferguson Jenkins 1967 (20-13)
1968 (20-15)
1969 (21-15)
1970 (22-16)
1971 (24-13)
1972 (20-12)
1974 (25-12)
Al Downing 1971 (20-9)
Vida Blue 1971 (24-8)
1973 (20-9)
1975 (22-11)
J.R. Richard 1976 (20-15)
Mike Norris 1980 (22-9)
Dwight Gooden 1985 (24-4)
Dave Stewart 1987 (20-13)
1988 (21-12)
1989 (21-9)
1990 (22-11)
Source
