Lenoir-Rhyne University Athletics

Jim Newsome had a stellar career in football and basketball for Lenoir-Rhyne and stayed active in athletics following his graduation in 1952.  Newsome was co-captain of the Bear football team in 1951 and also of the L-R basketball team in 1951-52.  Newsome earned All-North State Conference honors as a defensive guard in football and was second-team all-league in basketball.  He was named to the prestigious Greensboro Daily News all-state football team in 1951, one of the few small college athletes so honored.  An outstanding baseball umpire, Newsome began his professional career in that vein before he left L-R.  He umpired in the minor leagues for a couple of years and later was chosen to work in the NCAA College World Series in Omaha, Nebraska, three times.  Newsome served as an assistant football coach at both the high school and college levels, including a six-year stint at The Citadel from 1958 to 1964.  That included four years as head baseball coach there.