Harry Lawrence Newman (September 5, 1909 – May 2, 2000) was an All-Pro American football quarterback. He played for the University of Michigan Wolverines (1930–32), for whom in 1932 he was a unanimous first-team All-American, and the recipient of the Douglas Fairbanks Trophy as Outstanding College Player of the Year (predecessor of the Heisman Trophy), and the Helms Athletic Foundation Player of the Year Award, he was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. He then played professionally for the New York Giants (1933–35), and the Brooklyn/Rochester Tigers (1936–37).
Early life
Newman was born in Detroit, Michigan, and was Jewish. He was a running back at Northern High School, where he also played center field on the baseball team, and then attended a camp where Benny Friedman was the counselor and taught him how to pass a football.
College career
Newman attended the University of Michigan, and played for the Wolverines in football in 1930–32.
In Newman's three years at Michigan, the Wolverines lost only one game, won three Big Ten Conference championship, and had a combined record of 24–1–2. As a senior in 1932, Newman led the team to an undefeated season and national championship, as he played 437 out of 480 minutes of game time in Michigan's eight games. In 1932, Newman was a unanimous first-team All-American, and the recipient of the Douglas Fairbanks Trophy as Outstanding College Player of the Year (predecessor of the Heisman Trophy), and the Helms Athletic Foundation Player of the Year Award, the Chicago Tribune Silver Football trophy as the Most Valuable Player in the Big Ten Conference.
NFL New York Giants
1933 season
As a rookie with the New York Giants in 1933, Newman was an All-Pro and led the NFL in passes completed (53), passing yards (973), touchdown passes (11), and longest pass completion (78 yards). Newman's 973 passing yards stood as the NFL single-season record until 1937 when Arnie Herber threw for 1,239 yards. He also led the Giants, and was sixth in the NFL, with 437 yards rushing in 1933. With 1,547 yards of total offense (973 passing, 437 rushing and 137 receiving), Newman personally accounted for more than half of the Giants' total offense in 1933. He was named to the All-Pro team, and led the Giants to the 1933 NFL championship game.
In the 1933 NFL Championship Game against the Chicago Bears, Newman threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Red Badgro to give the Giants a 7–6 halftime lead. Newman's touchdown throw to Badgro was the first touchdown pass thrown in an NFL championship game. After the Bears went ahead 16–14 in the third quarter, Newman threw a second touchdown pass in the fourth quarter to give the Giants the lead, but the Bears scored the winning touchdown with less than one minute left to win the championship game, 23–21.
1934 season
In 1934, Newman was the Giant's leading rusher and passer, and was an All-Pro for the second consecutive season. The Giants went on to win their first NFL championship in 1934, but Newman's season was cut short after he broke two bones in his back during the tenth game of the season against the Chicago Bears. Newman complained after the 1934 season that the new football adopted by the NFL in 1934 was "harder to pass" than the old one which had greater girth. He set the NFL single-game carries record of 38 which was tied in 1966 by Jim Nance and broken in 1973 by O. J. Simpson.
1935 season
In early September 1935, there were reports that Newman might not return to the Giants' backfield, because he did not want to leave his Detroit liquor business. Newman announced he was quitting professional football and did not play the first few weeks of the season. Then, on October 15, 1935, Newman announced that he had changed his mind and signed a contract to play with the Giants beginning the following Saturday. After his return, Newman wrote: "Football still is fun. If it weren't it wouldn't be worth while, regardless of how much they paid you for it. Believe me, I've missed it the few weeks I was out and I was mighty glad to get back into action." Newman played in eight games (four as a starter) for a Giants team that once again advanced to the NFL Championship Game, losing to the Detroit Lions, 26–7. With the clock ticking off the final seconds of the championship game, Newman threw an interception that was run back 36 yards and resulted in a final score by the Lions.