When Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier in Major League Baseball in 1947, it began a trend of talented Black athletes making an impact in the big leagues. Many of those individuals were accomplished athletes on the mound.

Don Newcombe was the first Black pitcher to win 20 games in a season in 1951. After Newcombe did it two additional times in 1955 and 1956, Sam Jones joined Newcombe with a 20-win season in 1959.

Since then, 13 other pitchers have joined the fraternity known as the Black Aces. Coined by the late Jim “Mudcat” Grant, the Black Aces collectively are all of the Black pitchers from the United States and Canada who have won at least 20 games in a Major League Baseball season.

Throughout the month of February, The Athletic will highlight each member of the Black Aces. This series will conclude on Wednesday, Feb. 28.

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Don Newcombe

(Illustration: Ray Orr / The Athletic; photo: Bettmann / Contributor)

The first major-league pitcher to capture Rookie of the Year, MVP and a Cy Young Award in a career, Newcombe was the first member of baseball’s Black Aces. He first won 20 games in 1951, then achieved that feat again in 1955 and 1956. Newcombe had a dominant fastball, and per his oldest-living teammate, 97-year-old Carl Erskine, that fastball was all Newcombe needed. READ MORE

Al Downing

(Illustration: Ray Orr / The Athletic; top photo: Bettmann)

He was only 20 years old when he made his first appearance for the New York Yankees in 1961 and became the first Black pitcher to play for the organization. Thirteen years later, Downing gave up home run No. 715 to Hank Aaron as he broke Babe Ruth’s long-standing record. Everything that happened in between is a story in itself, particularly when he earned his only 20-win season playing for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1971. READ MORE

Mike Norris

(Illustration: Ray Orr / The Athletic; photo: Focus on Sport / Getty Images)

In a season he called “magical,” Norris won 22 games for the Oakland A’s in 1980. That year was one of the highlights of a career that had multiple ups and downs. Norris battled drug abuse in the ’80s but managed to not only turn his life around but also become the only A’s pitcher in franchise history with a victory in three different decades. READ MORE

Sam Jones

(Illustration: Ray Orr / The Athletic / Bettmann)

Jones had a curveball that hitters feared. Stan Musial once called it “the best curveball I ever saw.” Jones led the National League with 198 strikeouts for the 1955 season with that curveball. And while on the mound, Jones oftentimes was seen with a toothpick in his mouth. Jones was the second Black pitcher to win 20 games in an MLB season. READ MORE

Bob Gibson

There are baseball fans who believe Bob Gibson became the face of the St. Louis Cardinals once Stan Musial retired in 1963. Very few people intimidated Gibson. In fact, Gibson, who played from 1959 to 1975, often was the intimidator when he pitched. And when it came to speaking up for civil rights in the 1950s and 1960s, he wouldn’t hold his tongue — for anyone — when something was on his mind. READ MORE

(2007 photo of Dave Stewart, Mike Norris, Vida Blue and Jim “Mudcat” Grant: Michael Zagaris / MLB Photos via Getty Images)