Sam Newman
Encyclopedia
John Noel William "Sam" Newman (born 22 December 1945) is a retired Australian rules football
player and current television personality. He is a featured presenter on the AFL
version of The Footy Show
.
in 1964 and was fortunate to have Graham "Polly" Farmer
in the side as a role model. During the first semi-final against Collingwood
in 1967, Newman suffered a serious injury which forced surgeons to remove part of his kidney, but he bounced back to win his club's "best and fairest" award in 1968 and 1975. He was also selected as an All-Australian player in 1969 and played for the Victorian State team eight times.
Newman retired in 1980, having polled 100 Brownlow Medal
votes throughout his career. In 2002, he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame
.
coach for the Melbourne Football Club
to mentor players such as Jeff White
, Mark Jamar
and Paul Johnson.
On 6 July 2010, Newman made a comeback playing for Victoria in the annual EJ Whitten Legends Game. Newman kicked four goals from four kicks and three marks to be named best on ground, despite his team losing to the All Stars by seven points.
Newman has been a regular on the AFL
version of The Footy Show
since it first aired in 1994 on the Australian Nine Network
. He acts as sidekick
and resident clown. He regularly hosts "Street Talk", a vox populi segment in which he interviews people on the streets, usually in Melbourne
, as well as Sam's Mailbag where he reads out random correspondence, shows funny footage and the occasional humorous lookalike of Garry Lyon (co-host).
His other media appearances have included the Sunday sports show Any Given Sunday in 2005, World of Sport
, The Sunday Footy Show and also co-hosting the short lived Sam and The Fatman
with Paul "Fatty" Vautin
. On radio station Triple M
, Newman previews Friday night and Saturday afternoon matches. He formerly provided special comments during AFL games on Triple M, as well as 3AW
previously.
He is currently on the Melbourne Talk Radio
radio station, providing special comments and talkback to the general public.
. His mother and two older sisters prefer to call him by his birth name of John.
He has been married three times and has three sons, aged 11, 26 and 30.
Newman currently lives in an apartment in Melbourne's Docklands
where he also berths a luxury yacht
. He also owns four vintage cars and a warehouse.
class in the late 1990s and subsequently competed in the Australian Nations Cup Championship
in Lamborghini
s and Ferrari
s. He also competed in the Mini Challenge series at the 2010 Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park. This was a one off drive in the series.
. On 6 March he underwent a procedure at Epworth Hospital
in Melbourne to have the cancerous prostate removed. Newman asked that television cameras from Channel Nine's program 60 Minutes have full access to the procedure, as he believed it could help raise awareness of the issue amongst the greater public. Channel Nine personality and close friend Eddie McGuire
covered the story for the program.
The program went to air on 9 March 2008. It contained footage filmed earlier that day in which Newman's urologist, Laurence Harewood, told him that the operation had been a success and that he had been cleared of the cancer. Newman had since made a full recovery.
Australian rules football
Australian rules football, officially known as Australian football, also called football, Aussie rules or footy is a sport played between two teams of 22 players on either...
player and current television personality. He is a featured presenter on the AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
version of The Footy Show
The AFL Footy Show
The Footy Show is a Logie Award winning Australian sports television program, shown on the Nine Network and its affiliates.This show, which is dedicated to the AFL and Australian rules football, made its debut on 24 March 1994 at the same time as the other version which relates to the NRL and rugby...
.
VFL career
Recruited straight from school, Newman made his debut for GeelongGeelong Football Club
The Geelong Football Club, nicknamed The Cats, is a professional Australian rules football club, named after and based in the city of Geelong, playing in the Australian Football League . The club has been the VFL/AFL premiers nine times, with a record equalling 3 in the AFL era. Geelong has also...
in 1964 and was fortunate to have Graham "Polly" Farmer
Graham Farmer
Graham Vivian "Polly" Farmer, MBE is a retired Australian rules football player and coach. Born in Western Australia, he joined the East Perth Football Club as a ruckman in 1953, where he won several awards and contributed to the team winning three premierships...
in the side as a role model. During the first semi-final against Collingwood
Collingwood Football Club
The Collingwood Football Club, nicknamed The Magpies, is an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League...
in 1967, Newman suffered a serious injury which forced surgeons to remove part of his kidney, but he bounced back to win his club's "best and fairest" award in 1968 and 1975. He was also selected as an All-Australian player in 1969 and played for the Victorian State team eight times.
Newman retired in 1980, having polled 100 Brownlow Medal
Brownlow Medal
The Chas Brownlow Trophy, better known as the Brownlow Medal , is awarded to the "fairest and best" player in the Australian Football League during the regular season as determined by votes cast by the officiating field umpires after each game...
votes throughout his career. In 2002, he was inducted into the Australian Football Hall of Fame
Australian Football Hall of Fame
The Australian Football Hall of Fame was established in 1996, the Centenary year of the Australian Football League, to help recognise the contributions made to the sport of Australian rules football by players, umpires, media personalities, coaches and administrators. It was initially established...
.
After retirement
In December 2005, Newman was appointed as ruckRuckman (Australian rules football position)
In Australian rules football, a ruckman is typically a tall and athletic player who contests at centre bounces and stoppages . The ruckman is one of the most important players on the field...
coach for the Melbourne Football Club
Melbourne Football Club
The Melbourne Football Club, nicknamed The Demons, is an Australian rules football club playing in the Australian Football League , based in Melbourne, Victoria....
to mentor players such as Jeff White
Jeff White
Jeffrey Newman "Jeff" White is an Australian rules footballer who had a distinguished career in the Australian Football League spanning 14 years. He played most recently and notably for the Melbourne Football Club, following a move from the Fremantle Dockers at the end of 1997...
, Mark Jamar
Mark Jamar
Mark "Russian" Jamar is a professional Australian rules footballer currently playing with the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League .-Early life:...
and Paul Johnson.
On 6 July 2010, Newman made a comeback playing for Victoria in the annual EJ Whitten Legends Game. Newman kicked four goals from four kicks and three marks to be named best on ground, despite his team losing to the All Stars by seven points.
Media career
Newman joined radio station 3AW as a football commentator in 1981 and appeared on World of Sport on Channel 7 for seven years.Newman has been a regular on the AFL
Australian Football League
The Australian Football League is both the governing body and the major professional competition in the sport of Australian rules football...
version of The Footy Show
The AFL Footy Show
The Footy Show is a Logie Award winning Australian sports television program, shown on the Nine Network and its affiliates.This show, which is dedicated to the AFL and Australian rules football, made its debut on 24 March 1994 at the same time as the other version which relates to the NRL and rugby...
since it first aired in 1994 on the Australian Nine Network
Nine Network
The Nine Network , is an Australian television network with headquarters based in Willoughby, a suburb located on the North Shore of Sydney. For 50 years since television's inception in Australia, between 1956 and 2006, it was the most watched television network in Australia...
. He acts as sidekick
Sidekick
A sidekick is a close companion who is generally regarded as subordinate to the one he accompanies. Some well-known fictional sidekicks are Don Quixote's Sancho Panza, Sherlock Holmes' Doctor Watson, The Lone Ranger's Tonto, The Green Hornet's Kato and Batman's Robin.-Origins:The origin of the...
and resident clown. He regularly hosts "Street Talk", a vox populi segment in which he interviews people on the streets, usually in Melbourne
Melbourne
Melbourne is the capital and most populous city in the state of Victoria, and the second most populous city in Australia. The Melbourne City Centre is the hub of the greater metropolitan area and the Census statistical division—of which "Melbourne" is the common name. As of June 2009, the greater...
, as well as Sam's Mailbag where he reads out random correspondence, shows funny footage and the occasional humorous lookalike of Garry Lyon (co-host).
His other media appearances have included the Sunday sports show Any Given Sunday in 2005, World of Sport
World of Sport (Australian TV series)
World of Sport was an Australian sports program that was broadcast live by HSV 7 in Melbourne from 1959 to 1987 on Sundays between 11am and 2pm...
, The Sunday Footy Show and also co-hosting the short lived Sam and The Fatman
Sam and The Fatman
Sam and The Fatman was a short-lived Australian sports television program, shown on the Nine Network and its affiliates. The show was a spin-off from The AFL Footy Show and The NRL Footy Show, with hosts Sam Newman and Paul Vautin from those respective shows.The show ran in the Thursday night...
with Paul "Fatty" Vautin
Paul Vautin
Paul Vautin , is an Australian sports television personality and former rugby league footballer and coach. He currently hosts the NRL Footy Show and provides commentary for the Nine Network's coverage of rugby league matches...
. On radio station Triple M
Triple M
The Triple M Network is an active rock radio network in Australia owned by media company Austereo, who also own the Today Network.- History :...
, Newman previews Friday night and Saturday afternoon matches. He formerly provided special comments during AFL games on Triple M, as well as 3AW
3AW
3AW is a talkback radio station in Melbourne, Australia on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station.-History:...
previously.
He is currently on the Melbourne Talk Radio
Melbourne Talk Radio
Melbourne Talk Radio is a radio station operating in Melbourne which commenced on 19 April 2010. It replaced 3MP, which used the 1377 kHz frequency. 3MP moved to digital only under the name of 3MP MyMP...
radio station, providing special comments and talkback to the general public.
Personal life
Newman attended Geelong Grammar. His father's aim for him was to become a barristerBarrister
A barrister is a member of one of the two classes of lawyer found in many common law jurisdictions with split legal professions. Barristers specialise in courtroom advocacy, drafting legal pleadings and giving expert legal opinions...
. His mother and two older sisters prefer to call him by his birth name of John.
Newman currently lives in an apartment in Melbourne's Docklands
Melbourne Docklands
Docklands is an inner city suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia occupying an area extending up to 2 km west of and adjacent to Melbourne's Central Business District . Its Local Government Area is the City of Melbourne...
where he also berths a luxury yacht
Yacht
A yacht is a recreational boat or ship. The term originated from the Dutch Jacht meaning "hunt". It was originally defined as a light fast sailing vessel used by the Dutch navy to pursue pirates and other transgressors around and into the shallow waters of the Low Countries...
. He also owns four vintage cars and a warehouse.
Motor sport
Newman took up motor racing in the GT Production CarAustralian GT Production Car Championship
The Australian GT Production Car Championship was a CAMS sanctioned national motor racing title, organised by PROCAR Australia Pty Ltd, for drivers of Group 3E Series Production Cars.PROCAR had first promoted a national series for production based cars in 1994...
class in the late 1990s and subsequently competed in the Australian Nations Cup Championship
Australian Nations Cup Championship
The Australian Nations Cup Championship was a motor racing title sanctioned by the Confederation of Australian Motor Sport from 2000 to 2004.-History:...
in Lamborghini
Lamborghini
Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., commonly referred to as Lamborghini , is an Italian car manufacturer. The company was founded by manufacturing magnate Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1963, with the objective of producing a refined grand touring car to compete with established offerings from marques like...
s and Ferrari
Ferrari
Ferrari S.p.A. is an Italian sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari in 1929, as Scuderia Ferrari, the company sponsored drivers and manufactured race cars before moving into production of street-legal vehicles as Ferrari S.p.A. in 1947...
s. He also competed in the Mini Challenge series at the 2010 Australian Formula One Grand Prix at Albert Park. This was a one off drive in the series.
Controversy
Newman has been involved in several incidents of public controversy. Reports indicate that Newman is deliberately controversial, and that his on-air persona is nothing like his true self. Particular incidents include:- 1997 – Newman's 25 year old girlfriend, Leonie Jones, drove his own car into him outside his house, breaking his leg and an ankle.
- 1999 – On The Footy Show Newman blacked up his faceBlackfaceBlackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
to impersonate indigenous footballer Nicky WinmarNicky WinmarNeil Elvis "Nicky" Winmar is a former Australian Footballer of an indigenous background who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League.- AFL career :...
, at a time when racial vilification charges were being levelled at certain AFL players. - 2005 – A female fan broke a window whilst trying to break in to his Brighton house.
- 2008 – Mocking television personality and The AgeThe AgeThe Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
writer Caroline WilsonCaroline WilsonCaroline Wilson is an Australian sports journalist, who currently appears on 3AW's pre-match AFL discussion, as a panelist on Nine Network's Footy Classified, and an occasional panelist on the ABC program Offsiders....
regarding how she was dressed on Footy ClassifiedFooty ClassifiedFooty Classified , is an Australian television program broadcast on the Nine Network which discusses pressing issues relating to AFL football. It debuted on Monday 2 April 2007...
three days earlier by bringing a mannequin model onto stage and stapling a cardboard cut-out of Wilson on the face of the model and 'experimenting' with different outfits. Newman then recklessly moved the model about. Wilson brought the issue up on Footy Classified the following Monday, telling of her disappointment to Newman's co-star Garry LyonGarry LyonGarry Peter Lyon is a former professional Australian rules football player and was captain of the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League. Since his retirement from football, he has been mainly an Australian rules football media personality, featuring on television, radio and in...
. - 2009 – The Nine Network and Newman were sued for defamation by a female board member of the Western BulldogsWestern BulldogsThe Western Bulldogs are an Australian rules football club which plays in the Australian Football League . The club is based at the Whitten Oval in West Footscray, an inner-western suburb of Melbourne...
football team after he said on air that she was a "liar" and "hypocrite". They settled for $220,000 plus costs. - 2009 – 17 September. During the Footy Show broadcast Newman likened a Malaysian man to a monkey, being "not long out of the forest". The Australian Communications and Media Authority ruled Newman was likely to have "provoked severe ridicule on the basis of the man's colour and race". Newman's employer channel Nine has offered to donate $200,000 to charity in the event of any future code breach and had "agreed to a number of other provisions in the enforceable undertaking, including significant senior management overview of the materials to be used by Mr Newman and a broad-ranging reporting regime and training obligation".
- 2010 - 30 June. Newman was criticised for disrespect to Aboriginal beliefs when he revealed on a radio show that he had hit a golf ball off the summit of UluruUluruUluru , also known as Ayers Rock, is a large sandstone rock formation in the southern part of the Northern Territory, central Australia. It lies south west of the nearest large town, Alice Springs; by road. Kata Tjuta and Uluru are the two major features of the Uluṟu-Kata Tjuṯa National Park....
.
Cancer diagnosis
On 5 March 2008 it was revealed that Newman was in hospital, undergoing treatment for prostate cancerProstate cancer
Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
. On 6 March he underwent a procedure at Epworth Hospital
Epworth Hospital
-Epworth HealthCare:Epworth HealthCare is a provider of acute medical, surgical and rehabilitation services in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. The group has four divisions: Epworth Richmond, Epworth Eastern, Epworth Cliveden, Epworth Freemasons and Epworth Rehabilitation, with rehabilitation sites...
in Melbourne to have the cancerous prostate removed. Newman asked that television cameras from Channel Nine's program 60 Minutes have full access to the procedure, as he believed it could help raise awareness of the issue amongst the greater public. Channel Nine personality and close friend Eddie McGuire
Eddie McGuire
Edward Joseph "Eddie" McGuire AM is an Australian television presenter and businessman known for his long association with Australian rules football and the Channel 9 television network....
covered the story for the program.
The program went to air on 9 March 2008. It contained footage filmed earlier that day in which Newman's urologist, Laurence Harewood, told him that the operation had been a success and that he had been cleared of the cancer. Newman had since made a full recovery.