Newman Alexander "Nat" Townsend (May 1, 1882 – April 11, 1951) was a

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

player and attorney.

Early years

Newman Townsend was born on May 1, 1882, in Raynham, North Carolina, to the

reverend The Reverend is an style (manner of address), honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and Minister of religion, ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and c ...

Jackson Townsend and his wife Sarah Melissa Oliver. The Townsend family had emigrated from the parish of Raynham in

Norfolk, England Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North ...

University of North Carolina

Townsend graduated from the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the multi-campus public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the NC School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referred to as the UNC Sy ...

in 1905, and was a prominent member of its

football team A football team is a group of players selected to play together in the various team sports known as football. Such teams could be selected to play in a match against an opposing team, to represent a football club, group, state or nation, an All-st ...

, selected for All-Southern teams in 1904. John Longer de Saulles disputed those who would call his year lucky, "Townsend, of Carolina, has attrackted (sic) more attention than any Southern end during the season. It was Townsend's work for Carolina that defeated

Virginia Polytechnic Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a public land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also has educational facilities in six regi ...

and it was his good office that took advantage of Pollard misplay in

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, ...

, giving Carolina her touchdown. These accidents happen repeatedly only with those who are playing up to the limit, and while the newspapers may call his playing accidental, it is impossible to disassociate these accidents from earnest intelligent and successful endeavors."

Career in law

Townsend served as executive counsel to another former football star, governor

Oliver Max Gardner Oliver Max Gardner (March 22, 1882February 6, 1947) was an American politician who served as the 57th governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina from 1929 to 1933. A member of the Democratic Party, Gardner worked in the administrations of Pres ...

, in 1930–31.

References

1882 births 1951 deaths American football ends Players of American football from North Carolina All-Southern college football players North Carolina Tar Heels football players University of North Carolina School of Law alumni People from Robeson County, North Carolina American people of English descent {{collegefootball-player-stub