I must admit when I got the word from Elmhurst York High School Boys Head Track and Field coach Charlie Kern I was taken aback. I was stunned when the words scrolled across my phone: 'press conference at York next Wednesday 2:00pm. [Mr.] Newton's retirement will be announced.' I knew this day would come but still...
I thought about writing a quick news header piece to let everyone know what was going on. But I have to say that this is a bit more personal. Mr. Joe Newton is the father of Illinois cross country who became a national icon for our sport. Newton is one of the most genuine individuals that I have met. He did not seem to mind me calling him 'Coach Newton' whenever I saw him. He would often say, "how are you doing Tone, how is the team?" To be honest I felt honored to be on a first name basis with the hall of fame coach. It was evident to me after moving to Illinois in 1993, why so many people had gotten swept up in the culture of the Long Green Line. York under Coach Newton won an incredible 28 state cross country championships in 55 years. But it's the 45 state trophies which includes 12 runner-ups that adds to the legacy of Newton and York. York has also won six national titles and one track and field state championship under Newton.
Coach Newton has decided to call it quits after more than 60 years in the game. He has served his time as the dean of Illinois distance running decade after decade. It is interesting though, that he got his start in athletics as a sprinter in high school and college at Northwestern University, After graduation, Newton served a short stint in the armed forces before moving on to the education ranks. He taught physical education at York from 1956-2000. He started as an assistant track coach and later became head coach in 1960. It is not the personal or team accolades that made Mr. Newton special, it was the genuine good guy character in and out of the York community. I have had the pleasure of hearing him speak publicly as well as in closed quarters. Let me tell you there wasn't much difference when he spoke his doctrine. He said what he wanted when he wanted. In the documentary the Long Green Line, Newton displays a unique character that most coaches to this day don't do. In virtually every scene at the end of practice, Newton takes the time to shake every hand of a York student-athlete... and knowing each kid's name. Personally, I never done this simply because it would virtually take the entire school year to know each kid in my program. Actually, it shows the genuine love that Newton has for the sport that he fell in love with many decades before.
I know that I am going to miss the old man known as Mr. Newton whenever I travel to cover a York meet, attend one of his practices, competing against him, or being in his close quarters. I will miss his candid jokes as well as the motivational speeches. I will miss him yelling at his team from his cart during an invitational. I will miss him taking a moment to say hello and shake the hands of my athletes who meet him for the first time. I will miss him wearing the fabled York Dukes stocking cap at every meet. Most of all I will just plain miss Mr. Joe Newton.
Coach Joe Newton takes a moment to speak with Tony Jones at the 2011 Prospect Wanner Knights Invitational. What did coach Newton share with yours truly? Something motivational and humorous all mixed into one (Brenda Gamboa photo)