title: Joel Newkirk
text: # Joel Newkirk
  
  Joel Inez "Sailor" Newkirk (June 1, 1896 – January 22, 1966) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball. He played for the Chicago Cubs.
  
  ## Life
  
  Newkirk was born in Kyana, Indiana, the son of Caleb Wilson Newkirk (1875-1945) and his wife, Sarah Florence (nee Ray) Newkirk (1878-1961). His younger brother is former Major League Baseball pitcher Floyd Newkirk. Joel served as a Boatswain Mate 1st Class in the United States Naval Reserve during World War I. This is likely what gave him the nickname "Sailor."
  
  He married Vivian Capitola Stiles (1900-1974) and they had one daughter, Betty Joel Newkirk Westfall (1921-1996).
  
  Newkirk is a descendant of Sergeant Elias Newkirk, who served in the American Revolutionary War, and whose family was among the earliest settlers to Ulster County, New York. Elias's brother, Abraham, was a direct ancestor of Steve Comer, another Major League pitcher, and actor Dash Mihok; this makes both Comer and Mihok 5th cousins, twice removed of Joel.
  
  Joel is buried at Wolf Creek Cemetery in Eldorado, Illinois, where he passed away.
  
  