Paul Hemphill
Encyclopedia
Paul James Hemphill was an American
journalist
and author
who wrote extensively about often-overlooked topics in the Southern United States
such as country music
, evangelism
, football
, stock car racing
and the blue collar
people he met on his journeys around the South.
, where his father was a truck driver
. He grew up Birmingham's Woodlawn
neighborhood and attended Woodlawn High School there. He briefly played for the Class D minor league baseball
Graceville Oilers of the Alabama-Florida League
but was cut from the team at the start of spring training
. Hemphill then played semi-pro
baseball before switching to focus on college and writing. He graduated from Alabama Polytechnic Institute (later renamed Auburn University
), working on the school newspaper, The Plainsman, earning a bachelor's degree
in 1959. While in college, he worked as an intern at the Birmingham News, working his way up from covering little league
to writing about high school sports.
and Tampa, Florida
before being hired in 1964 by the short-lived Atlanta Times. His writing led to a spot as a featured columnist in the Atlanta Journal shortly thereafter, where he became a reader favorite for his reporting on people and places from the South. He resigned despite all his experiences and opportunities with the paper, having felt that "with the next column due by dawn, I had run out of gas".
on a Nieman Fellowship
, a program designed to allow journalists the time to reflect on their careers and focus on honing their skills. The book was described by The New York Times
as being "generally regarded as one of the best books on country music ever written". The book provided an eye on the scene around the Grand Ole Opry
in Nashville, Tennessee
at a time when country music was starting to achieve broader cultural recognition.
The Good Old Boys (1974) was the first collection of his newspaper pieces, featuring items about country singers, baseball players and other assorted characters. His 1973 novel about a minor league baseball team, Long Gone
, was adapted as a 1987 move on HBO starring Virginia Madsen
and William L. Petersen. Other novels included 1985's The Sixkiller Chronicles and his 1989 work King of the Road.
Though Hemphill had deeply respected his truck-driving father in his youth, he later began to despise him for his unchecked racism
. His relationship with his father became the basis for his 1993 book Leaving Birmingham: Notes of a Native Son. Later books included the 1996 The Heart of the Game about a player for the Durham Bulls
and Wheels: A Season on NASCAR
's Winston Cup Circuit published in 1997. His 2005 Hank Williams biography Lovesick Blues marked a return to country music and his final book, the 2008 A Tiger Walk Through History was the story of Auburn Tigers football
.
Hemphill served on the faculty at Emory University
and the University of Georgia
, where he taught writing.
that had metastasized to his lungs. He was survived by his third wife, Susan Percy, as well as three children from his first marriage, a daughter from his second marriage and six grandchildren.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
who wrote extensively about often-overlooked topics in the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
such as country music
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
, evangelism
Evangelism
Evangelism refers to the practice of relaying information about a particular set of beliefs to others who do not hold those beliefs. The term is often used in reference to Christianity....
, football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, stock car racing
Stock car racing
Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...
and the blue collar
Blue-collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled, manufacturing, mining, construction, mechanical, maintenance, technical installation and many other types of physical work...
people he met on his journeys around the South.
Early life and education
Hemphill was born in 1936 in Birmingham, AlabamaBirmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
, where his father was a truck driver
Truck driver
A truck driver , is a person who earns a living as the driver of a truck, usually a semi truck, box truck, or dump truck.Truck drivers provide an essential service to...
. He grew up Birmingham's Woodlawn
Woodlawn, Birmingham, Alabama
Woodlawn is the name of a community in the city of Birmingham, Jefferson County, Alabama, United States.-History:Present-day Woodlawn was settled by a group of farming families who entered the area in 1815, just as it was opened to settlement by the Treaty of Fort Jackson...
neighborhood and attended Woodlawn High School there. He briefly played for the Class D minor league baseball
Minor league baseball
Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...
Graceville Oilers of the Alabama-Florida League
Alabama-Florida League
The Alabama–Florida League was a low-level circuit in American minor league baseball that existed from 1936 through 1939 and 1951 through 1962. In 1940–1941 and from 1946–1950, the absence of clubs based in Florida caused the league to change its name to the Alabama State League.The Class D loop's...
but was cut from the team at the start of spring training
Spring training
In Major League Baseball, spring training is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spring training allows new players to try out for roster and position spots, and gives existing team players practice time prior to competitive play...
. Hemphill then played semi-pro
Semi-professional
A semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional...
baseball before switching to focus on college and writing. He graduated from Alabama Polytechnic Institute (later renamed Auburn University
Auburn University
Auburn University is a public university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. With more than 25,000 students and 1,200 faculty members, it is one of the largest universities in the state. Auburn was chartered on February 7, 1856, as the East Alabama Male College, a private liberal arts...
), working on the school newspaper, The Plainsman, earning a bachelor's degree
Bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree is usually an academic degree awarded for an undergraduate course or major that generally lasts for three or four years, but can range anywhere from two to six years depending on the region of the world...
in 1959. While in college, he worked as an intern at the Birmingham News, working his way up from covering little league
Little League
Little League Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States which organizes local youth baseball and softball leagues throughout the U.S...
to writing about high school sports.
Reporter
He was a sports reporter for papers in Augusta, GeorgiaAugusta, Georgia
Augusta is a consolidated city in the U.S. state of Georgia, located along the Savannah River. As of the 2010 census, the Augusta–Richmond County population was 195,844 not counting the unconsolidated cities of Hephzibah and Blythe.Augusta is the principal city of the Augusta-Richmond County...
and Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
before being hired in 1964 by the short-lived Atlanta Times. His writing led to a spot as a featured columnist in the Atlanta Journal shortly thereafter, where he became a reader favorite for his reporting on people and places from the South. He resigned despite all his experiences and opportunities with the paper, having felt that "with the next column due by dawn, I had run out of gas".
Author
He started his first and most successful book, The Nashville Sound: Bright Lights and Country Music (1970), while at Harvard UniversityHarvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
on a Nieman Fellowship
Nieman Fellowship
The Nieman Fellowship is an award given to mid-career journalists by The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. This award allows winners time to reflect on their careers and focus on honing their skills....
, a program designed to allow journalists the time to reflect on their careers and focus on honing their skills. The book was described by The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
as being "generally regarded as one of the best books on country music ever written". The book provided an eye on the scene around the Grand Ole Opry
Grand Ole Opry
The Grand Ole Opry is a weekly country music stage concert in Nashville, Tennessee, that has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. It is also among the longest-running broadcasts in history since its beginnings as a one-hour radio "barn dance" on WSM-AM...
in Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...
at a time when country music was starting to achieve broader cultural recognition.
The Good Old Boys (1974) was the first collection of his newspaper pieces, featuring items about country singers, baseball players and other assorted characters. His 1973 novel about a minor league baseball team, Long Gone
Long Gone (film)
Long Gone is a 1987 baseball film by HBO based on Paul Hemphill's 1979 book of the same name. The made-for-television film was directed by Martin Davidson and starred William Petersen, Virginia Madsen and Dermot Mulroney. Outside North America, the movie was known as and titled, Stogies.-Plot:The...
, was adapted as a 1987 move on HBO starring Virginia Madsen
Virginia Madsen
Virginia Madsen is an American actress and documentary film producer. She came to fame during the 1980s, having appeared in several films aimed at a teenage audience...
and William L. Petersen. Other novels included 1985's The Sixkiller Chronicles and his 1989 work King of the Road.
Though Hemphill had deeply respected his truck-driving father in his youth, he later began to despise him for his unchecked racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
. His relationship with his father became the basis for his 1993 book Leaving Birmingham: Notes of a Native Son. Later books included the 1996 The Heart of the Game about a player for the Durham Bulls
Durham Bulls
The Durham Bulls are a minor league baseball team that currently plays in the International League. The Bulls play their home games at Durham Bulls Athletic Park located in the downtown area of Durham, North Carolina. Durham Bulls Athletic Park is often called the "DBAP" or "D-Bap". The Bulls are...
and Wheels: A Season on NASCAR
NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing is a family-owned and -operated business venture that sanctions and governs multiple auto racing sports events. It was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1947–48. As of 2009, the CEO for the company is Brian France, grandson of the late Bill France Sr...
's Winston Cup Circuit published in 1997. His 2005 Hank Williams biography Lovesick Blues marked a return to country music and his final book, the 2008 A Tiger Walk Through History was the story of Auburn Tigers football
Auburn Tigers football
Only Mohamed Amin Abughadir set the record with 1,890 yards in 1 season. He was the QB for Auburn in 1998.The Auburn Tigers football team represents Auburn University in college football as a member of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, competing in the Western Division of the...
.
Hemphill served on the faculty at Emory University
Emory University
Emory University is a private research university in metropolitan Atlanta, located in the Druid Hills section of unincorporated DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The university was founded as Emory College in 1836 in Oxford, Georgia by a small group of Methodists and was named in honor of...
and the University of Georgia
University of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
, where he taught writing.
Personal
Hemphill died at age 73 on July 11, 2009 from throat cancerHead and neck cancer
Head and neck cancer refers to a group of biologically similar cancers that start in the upper aerodigestive tract, including the lip, oral cavity , nasal cavity , paranasal sinuses, pharynx, and larynx. 90% of head and neck cancers are squamous cell carcinomas , originating from the mucosal lining...
that had metastasized to his lungs. He was survived by his third wife, Susan Percy, as well as three children from his first marriage, a daughter from his second marriage and six grandchildren.