Tension Before the Game
Tension Before the Game
Marvin E. Newman
March 24, 2025
Marvin E. Newman, Fort Worth, Cotton Bowl, TCU Trainer Othal Abe Martin with his team before the game against Syracuse, January 1, 1957 © Marvin E. Newman
The American photographer was always innovative: whether as a passionate representative of street photography or a careful observer at sports events. Marvin E. Newman (1927-2023) was also to make history with his use of colour film. After studying in Chicago, he returned to New York and began working for leading magazines such as Life, Look and Esquire. It was the newly-established, high-circulation sports magazines in particular who appreciated his extraordinary images. When Sports Illustrated was launched in 1954, Newman was immediately on board as a photographer. He had experience and was regarded as an expert for his precise eye for the action on the field. From the 1950s onwards, he was able to capture some of the great moments in American sports history. Early on, he set himself apart from the usual standards by opting to use colour rather than black and white film. Although publishers did not yet have the technical means to process colour photographs as quickly as black and white, his colour images attracted attention and ended up as cover illustrations or found prominent positions in preview volumes for the coming season. One of his specialities was pictures of games in the late evening, where his use of colour gave the field an unusual atmosphere; but the photos he took away from the field also became legendary, such as images of Cassius Clay while he was training, or portraits of athletes and cheerleaders.
One motif in this series deserves special attention: Newman had the personal chutzpah to sneak into the locker room of the Texas Christian University (TCU) football team just before the 1957 Cotton Bowl, and managed to photograph a moment that one author would later call the greatest sports photo of all time. The picture does not show the action on the field, but rather the TCU Horned Frogs football team, listening to their trainer, before what was to become for many of them an unforgettable high point of their lives. A quiet scene in a theatre piece. The changing room is a tight fit, players crowd together on the bench, some have found a spot sitting on the floor, everything is still – it is the calm before the storm. The only person standing and moving is the trainer, Othal Abe Martin. Is he giving some final pieces of advice? The game was to be a dramatic and exciting one, with the team shown here just barely claiming victory over their opponents, the Syracuse Orangemen, 28 to 27 points. In 1999, Sports Illustrated awarded this picture of Newman’s the title “Sports Photo of the Century”.
Ulrich RüterOne motif in this series deserves special attention: Newman had the personal chutzpah to sneak into the locker room of the Texas Christian University (TCU) football team just before the 1957 Cotton Bowl, and managed to photograph a moment that one author would later call the greatest sports photo of all time. The picture does not show the action on the field, but rather the TCU Horned Frogs football team, listening to their trainer, before what was to become for many of them an unforgettable high point of their lives. A quiet scene in a theatre piece. The changing room is a tight fit, players crowd together on the bench, some have found a spot sitting on the floor, everything is still – it is the calm before the storm. The only person standing and moving is the trainer, Othal Abe Martin. Is he giving some final pieces of advice? The game was to be a dramatic and exciting one, with the team shown here just barely claiming victory over their opponents, the Syracuse Orangemen, 28 to 27 points. In 1999, Sports Illustrated awarded this picture of Newman’s the title “Sports Photo of the Century”.
Image: © Marvin E. Newman
LFI 2.2025+-
You can find further pictures by Marvin E. Newman in the Classic segment of the magazine LFI 2.2025. More
Marvin E. Newman+-
Born December 5, 1927 in the Bronx as son of a fourth-generation baker. As a child he frequently accompanied his uncles to their jobs as cinema projectionists. Joined the socio-politically engaged New York Photo League in 1948. 1949–1952, he studied at the Chicago Institute of Design, working in the photo lab of Life magazine. Returning to NYC after graduation, he started out as a sports photographer; first museum exhibitions. For the next decades, his career as a photojournalist took him to Europe and Africa, i.a. Multiple awards and exhibitions. In 2017: first major retrospective monograph, published by Taschen. Marvin E. Newman passed away in New Jersey on September 13, 2023. More
Marvin E. Newman, Fort Worth, Cotton Bowl, TCU Trainer Othal Abe Martin with his team before the game against Syracuse, January 1, 1957 © Marvin E. Newman