Sport(s) | Basketball, Baseball |
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Biographical details | |
Born |
Rockwood, Tennessee |
February 2, 1930
Playing career | |
1949–1951 | Kentucky |
Position(s) | Guard, Pitcher |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1956–1968 | Transylvania |
1968–1980 | Alabama |
1981–1989 | Vanderbilt |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 340–238 (.588) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
Awards | |
|
|
Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2000 |
|
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006 |
Charles Martin "C. M." Newton (born February 2, 1930) is a retired American basketball player, coach and administrator. He was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a Contributor on October 13, 2000.
Born in Rockwood, Tennessee, Newton was a two-sport player at the University of Kentucky, playing both baseball and basketball. As a reserve guard/forward, he was part of the Wildcats' national championship team in 1951 under legendary coach Adolph Rupp, though Newton himself averaged only 1.2 points per game. As a pitcher he helped the Wildcats baseball team reach the NCAA tournament and, after college, signed a minor league baseball contract with a New York Yankees farm system. Newton finally gave up baseball after the births of his two daughters.
Newton's coaching career spanned 30 years and three institutions.
By 1956, Newton had landed his first basketball coaching job at Transylvania University (then Transylvania College) in Lexington, Kentucky on a recommendation by Rupp. Newton compiled a 169–137 record at Transylvania, leading them to the 1963 NAIA Tournament. While at Transylvania he recruited the school's first black player.
Newton was inducted into Transylvania's Pioneer Hall of Fame in 1992.
In 1968, legendary football coach and athletic director Paul "Bear" Bryant, who had been the coach for the University of Kentucky's football team during Newton's playing days, called Rupp looking for someone to turn around the University of Alabama's basketball program. Rupp recommended Newton, who after twelve seasons at Transylvania, left Lexington for Tuscaloosa.