Sports: Charles "Hoss" Newman, 1995, Winn Parish, LA. Submitted by Greggory E. Davies, 120 Ted Price Lane, Winnfield, LA 71483 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** From: February 1, 1995 Winn Parish Enterprise News-American "Hoss" Newman Enters Tech Hall of Fame Charles "Hoss" Newman, head football coach at Winnfield High School from 1956 to 1966, was inducted into the Louisiana Tech Sports Hall of Fame on Saturday. Charles "Hoss" Newman was involved in football on several levels for most of his life. First he was a player, lining up as an end and just getting after them, then as a coach for all of three decades and part of two others, still just lining up and getting after it. That's basically it for football in the mind of "Hoss" Newman. The more things change, the more they remain the same. No matter the player that showed up to participate as a member of his football team, the system didn't change. The goal never wavered, and the method of achieving it was always the same. "You just take the boys you've got and get after them," Newman said. "We just got up on the line and got after it." And, apparently, there was no need for change. If it ain't broke. In the case of "Hoss" Newman's football teams, it wasn't broke. In fact, they ran quite well, thank you. They ran 205 victories in 331 tries for anyone who's counting. That was from 1949-1981, when Newman became one of only a handful of coaches to win 200 football games in the Louisiana high school ranks. When he left the profession, he had more wins than all but four other men in Louisiana prep history. "Hoss" Newman has just lined up and became the fifth winningest high school coach the state has ever seen. On Saturday at noon, he joined Louisiana Tech legends as they are inducted into the University's athletic Hall of Fame. R. A. "Racer" Holstead, Lean Ann Jarvis, John Henry White, Joe McNeely, Teresa Weatherspoon, and Mike Barber joined Newman as new members in the hall in a ceremony in the Hall of Fame Room of the Thomas Assembly Center. It all began for Newman as a coach in 1949, when he became head football coach at Lake Providence High School. He stayed there until 1955 and the following season he moved to Winnfield High School where he stayed until 1965. Newman's strongest team in Winnfield was the 1961 squad which went 11-0, one of only five undefeated seasons in school history including 1994, and clinched the district title. That 1961 team also scored 400 points, a school record that stood for several years, and defeated Ruston for the first time in 33 years. Senior members included Mike Tinnerello, David Adams, Billy Barton, Eugene Edmonds, Mack Martin, Carroll Long, Gerald Long, Charles Austin, and Rusty Melton. Assistant coaches were Thomas Ray Straughn and Frank Mobley. The team also won district titles in 1959 (7-3) and 1960 (8-2-1) and in 1958 handed state champs Neville their only loss of the season. His longest tenure was at Benton High School, where he was head coach from 1966 until 1976. It was during his time at Benton that he served as a coach on the Louisiana state high school All-Star game. Newman finished out his career from 1977 through 1981 at Trinity Heights Christian Academy. During those 33 years, Newman's teams won. Along with his career record of 205-119-7, the coach rang up 10 district championships and 13 playoff teams. In his time away from the football field, he coached track everywhere he went and spent some time teaching civics, physical education and even driver's education. But it could have been vastly different for "Hoss" Newman. An all-state end for Ponchatoula High when it won a state championship in 1940, Newman originally went to Southeast Louisiana. That was for only one week, but he soon left to play for Joe Aillet at Louisiana Tech. He was a hit right off, earning top freshman honors for the Louisiana Intercollegiate Conference in 1941 from his end position. He went on to make all-conference teams in 1942, '46, and '47. He was captain of that 1947 team which won an LIC title. His college career over, Newman was drafted by the Washington Redskins in 1948, but two weeks into camp, an injury ended his career. Within a year, he was coaching high school football. On Saturday Louisiana Tech acknowledged that he became one of the best at just that.