:Harry Newsome
{{Short description|American football player (born 1963)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2024}}
{{Infobox NFL biography
| name = Harry Newsome
| number = 18
| position = Punter
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1963|01|25}}
| birth_place = Cheraw, South Carolina, U.S.
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 0
| weight_lb = 192
| high_school = Cheraw (SC)
| college = Wake Forest
| draftyear = 1985
| draftround = 8
| draftpick = 214
| pastteams =
- Pittsburgh Steelers ({{NFL Year|1985|1989}})
- Minnesota Vikings ({{NFL Year|1990|1993}})
| highlights =
- Joe Greene Great Performance Award (1985)
- Third-team All-American (1983)
- First-team All-ACC (1983)
| statlabel1 = Punts
| statvalue1 = 683
| statlabel2 = Punting yards
| statvalue2 = 29,030
| statlabel3 = Average punt
| statvalue3 = 42.5
| statlabel4 = Longest punt
| statvalue4 = 84
| statlabel5 = Inside 20
| statvalue5 = 61
| pfr = NewsHa20
}}
Harry Kent Newsome Jr. (born January 25, 1963) is an American former professional football player who was a punter in the National Football League (NFL).
Newsome was born in Cheraw, South Carolina and played scholastically at Cheraw High School.{{cite web |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/N/NewsHa20.htm |title=Harry Newsome Stats |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |access-date=May 11, 2024}} He played collegiately at Wake Forest,and was a third-team All-American as a junior.{{cite web |url=https://www.nfl.com/players/harry-newsome/ |title=Harry Newsome Stats |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |access-date=May 11, 2024}}{{cite news |author= |date=Dec 6, 1983 |title=Associated Press All-American Team |work=The Ithaca Journal}}
Newsome was selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the eighth round of the 1985 NFL draft.{{Cite web |title=1985 NFL Draft Listing |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1985/draft.htm |access-date=2023-10-05 |website=Pro-Football-Reference.com |language=en}} He spent five years with the Steelers, followed by four years with the Minnesota Vikings.
Harry holds the record for the longest punt in Three Rivers Stadium of 84 yards. He shares with Herman Weaver the NFL record for most of his own punts blocked in a career with 14. In 1988, he set the NFL record for most of his own punts blocked in a season with 6.{{cite book|last=Loede|first=Matt|title=100 Things Steelers Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=caNuAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA42-IA2|accessdate=6 October 2016|year=2013|publisher=Triumph Books|isbn=9781623683016|page=42}}
Today, Newsome lives in his hometown, Cheraw, SC with his wife, Beth. Together, they have three children: Josh, Laurin, and Cody. After retirement, Newsome founded his own landscaping company.
NFL career statistics
| class="wikitable mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"
! colspan="2"| Legend |
| style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"|
| Led the league |
| Bold
| Career high |
= Regular season =
| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;" | ||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="10"| Punting | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| {{abbr|GP|Games played}} | Punts | {{abbr|Yds|Yards}} | {{Nowrap|Net Yds}} | {{abbr|Lng|Longest punt}} | {{abbr|Avg|Average}} | {{Nowrap|Net Avg}} | {{abbr|Blk|Blocked punts}} | {{abbr|Ins20|Inside 20 yard line}} | {{abbr|TB|Touchbacks}} | |
| 1985 | PIT
| 16 || 78 || 3,088 || 2,568 || 59 || 39.6 || 32.5 || 1 || 17 || 7 | |||||||||
| 1986 | PIT
| 16 || 86 || 3,447 || 2,863 || 64 || 40.1 || 32.2 || style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"| 3 || 18 || 11 | |||||||||
| 1987 | PIT
| 12 || 64 || 2,678 || 2,045 || 57 || 41.8 || 31.5 || 1 || 8 || 13 | |||||||||
| 1988 | PIT
| 16 || 65 || 2,950 || 2,332 || 62 || style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"| 45.4 || 32.8 || style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"| 6 || 9 || 10 | |||||||||
| 1989 | PIT
| 16 || 82 || 3,368 || 2,827 || 57 || 41.1 || 34.1 || 1 || 15 || 9 | |||||||||
| 1990 | MIN
| 16 || 78 || 3,299 || 2,626 || 61 || 42.3 || 33.2 || 1 || 19 || 8 | |||||||||
| 1991 | MIN
| 16 || 68 || 3,095 || 2,469 || 65 || 45.5 || 36.3 || 0 || 17 || 10 | |||||||||
| 1992 | MIN
| 16 || 72 || 3,243 || 2,604 || style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"| 84 || 45.0 || 35.7 || 1 || 19 || 15 | |||||||||
| 1993 | MIN
| 16 || 90 || 3,862 || 3,182 || 64 || 42.9 || 35.4 || 0 || 25 || 6 | |||||||||
| colspan="2"| Career | 140 | 683 | 29,030 | 23,516 | 84 | 42.5 | 33.7 | 14 | 147 | 89 |
= Playoffs =
| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;" | ||||||||||
| rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team ! colspan="10"| Punting | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| {{abbr|GP|Games played}} | Punts | {{abbr|Yds|Yards}} | {{Nowrap|Net Yds}} | {{abbr|Lng|Longest punt}} | {{abbr|Avg|Average}} | {{Nowrap|Net Avg}} | {{abbr|Blk|Blocked punts}} | {{abbr|Ins20|Inside 20 yard line}} | {{abbr|TB|Touchbacks}} | |
| 1989 | PIT
| 2 || 7 || 238 || 224 || 50 || 34.0 || 28.0 || 1 || 2 || 0 | |||||||||
| 1992 | MIN
| 1 || 7 || 302 || 232 || 50 || 43.1 || 33.1 || 0 || 2 || 0 | |||||||||
| 1993 | MIN
| 1 || 8 || 302 || 277 || 57 || 37.8 || 34.6 || 0 || 3 || 1 | |||||||||
| colspan="2"| Career | 4 | 22 | 842 | 733 | 57 | 38.3 | 31.9 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Steelers1985DraftPicks}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newsome, Harry}}
Category:Sportspeople from Cheraw, South Carolina
Category:American football punters
Category:Wake Forest Demon Deacons football players
Category:Pittsburgh Steelers players
Category:Minnesota Vikings players
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