South Dakota Mail – Thursday, Sep 21, 1950
Roger Newell Continues Famous Newell Brothers Tradition
Newcomers to Plankinton wouldn’t know about the one-time famous Newell Brothers baseball team. Sons of Mr. and Mrs. Dell Newell, Sr., their names were: Dell, Jr., Bill, Ben, Lee, Leslie, Elmer, Dee, Gussie, Gilbert and Fay. Lewis was too young to play.
Here’s an account of one of their games:
“On Wednesday, Newell Brothers played Storla, and it was a pitchers battle from the first to the 13th inning when Newells sent over the winning run in a 2-1 victory. Muggy Newell pitched the best game of his career as a slab artist, allowing but two hits in 12 innings and fanning 15 men. His opponent Brown was almost as good, allowing but three sage ones and benching almost as many as Muggy. Their support was poor in spots due to the wind and dust interfering with the throwing to bases and many times the pitchers had to fan the side out in order to avoid scoring. Lee Newell was the hero for the Newell boys when he brought in the first and tying score when he hit safely and stole second and third and came in on a fielder’s choice.”
Lee Newell, now dead, is the father of Roger Newell, who placed on the current state tournament team.
Pitcher Brown later pitched three years with the St. Louis Cards.
Another Newell brother, Glenn, died at the age of six.
Mrs. Newell, mother of the famous brothers, is now living in Plankinton and will be 80 in December.
Lewis pitched for the cement plant ball team which a few years ago won the state tournament.
The brothers had four sisters, Myrtle, who succumbed in a ranch fire in 1905; Mrs. Don Little, the youngest in the family (Dorothy), lives in Indianapolis; Mrs. McBride (Stella), the oldest in the family who lives in Canada; and Lottie Webster, of Hayworth, Calif.
Mr. Dell Newell, Sr., died in 1927.
Dell, the oldest boy, is superintendent of builds and grounds at the courthouse; Ben lives in E. Grand Forks, Minn.; Leslie, Elmer (Muggs), Gilbert and Fay, all live in Belvidere, Ill.; Lewis is in Rapid City; and Bill, Lee and Gussie are dead.
The Newell Brothers baseball team “was mowing them down” hereabouts a quarter of a century age, and at the time was the only all-brothers team in the world.
<Eric’s edit> I believe the pitcher referenced here is Curly Brown who played for the St. Louis Browns from 1911-1913. There were never any Browns who pitched for the St. Louis Cardinals between 1910 and 1940. There was an Elmer Brown who pitched for the Browns between 1911-1912, but he was from Indiana and Curly was from Kansas, so I would think it’s more likely the Newell brothers ran into a pitcher from Kansas.
Eric's space 