Zipp Newman

Henry Hardin "Zipp" Newman (May 24, 1894 – March 3, 1977) was an American sportswriter known as the "Dean of Southern Sports Writers."

Zipp Newman
Born	Henry Hardin Newman (1894-05-24)May 24, 1894 Smith Mills, Kentucky, U.S.
Died	March 3, 1977(1977-03-03) (aged 82) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S.
Occupation	Sportswriter

Early life and education

Newman was born on May 24, 1894, in Smith Mills, Kentucky^[1] to Henry Haynes Newman and Henriette Beauregard Haynes. He came to Birmingham, Alabama, at a young age. He attended Powell Elementary School, Central High School, and Birmingham-Southern College. In high school he reported ran to 100-yard dash in ten seconds flat, and so he carried the nickname "Zipp."^[2]

Career

In 1919, Newman became the South's youngest sports editor at the Birmingham News and was to become the Dean of Southern sports writers.^[3] For 44 years, he was the official scorer for baseball's "AA" Southern League. Newman was a correspondent for The Sporting News for many years, and became first associated with the Birmingham News in 1912.^[4] He started restricting his duties in 1959 when he became sports editor emeritus, but continued to write his column.^[4] Newman was elected to the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 1975, and started the institution as its first executive secretary.^[5]

Newman once said, "Football is a religion in the Southland, played by the boys and relived daily by their families."^[6] When Travis Tidwell led Auburn defeated Alabama in 1949, Newman wrote "There has never been a sweeter Auburn victory in all the 58 years of football on the Plains than the Tigers 14-13 win over Alabama."^[7]

Bibliography

• The House of Barons: Record of the Barons since 1900, (1948)
• 50 Years of Professional Baseball in Alabama, 1950
• The Impact of Southern Football, 1969