Zipp Newman
Henry Hardin "Zipp" Newman (born May 24, 1894 in Smith Mills, Kentucky; died March 3, 1977 in Birmingham) was a popular sportswriter who was named the South's youngest sports editor at The Birmingham News in 1919.
Henry was the son of Henry and Henriette Beauregard Haynes Newman, who moved to Birmingham while he was in elementary school. He attended Powell Elementary School and graduated from Central High School. He went on to complete a bachelor's degree at Birmingham-Southern College. He joined the News staff in 1912.
Newman served as an official scorer for the Southern League and as a correspondent for The Sporting News. He helped organize the Monday Morning Quarterback Club in 1939, benefitting the establishment of Crippled Children's Clinic. In 1948 Newman was recognized by the American Hospital Association as one of the 50 Americans who have "done the most for hospitals". Mayor Cooper Green proclaimed September 15 as "Zipp Newman Day" for his efforts in "harnessing sports to health".
After relinquishing his editorial duties to Benny Marshall in 1959, Newman continued to contribute a weekly column to the paper. In the 1960s he lobbied for the creation of the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, serving as its first executive secretary.
Newman was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1975. The Hall of Fame Bowl committee named the award for outstanding defensive player of the game in his memory. He was inducted posthumously into the Birmingham Barons Hall of Fame in 2009.
He died in 1977 and is buried at Elmwood Cemetery. His widow, the former Mary Frances McNeil, died in 1984.
Bibliography
- McGowan, Frank & Zipp Newman (1948) The House of Barons: Record of the Barons Since 1900 Cather Brothers.
- McGowan, Frank & Zipp Newman (1950) 50 Years of Professional Baseball in Alabama Since 1900. Cather Brothers.
- Newman, Zipp (1969) The Impact of Southern Football Morris-Bell Publishing Company
References
- "Birmingham To Hold 'Zipp Newman Day'. (September 14, 1948) Alabama Journal
- Morris, Frances Newman & Worth Earlwood Norman Jr. (2019) Zipp: The Impact of Henry Hardin Newman. Archdeacon Books ISBN 9781949422931
- "Zipp Newman" (September 11, 2023) Wikipedia - accessed July 13, 2024
External links
- Zipp Newman at ASHOF.org
- Henry Hardin "Zipp" Newman at findagrave.com