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In this article, Kayla Newman discusses the tragic story of what happened to Sterling Heater and Al Newman and how it led to the naming of the Heater Newman Memorial Gymnasium.
What happened to Al Newman and Sterling Heater?
What happened to Al Newman and Sterling Heater?
By Kayla Newman
By Kayla Newman
Have you ever wondered why the Heater-Newman Memorial Gymnasium is named the way it is? In 1948, Grants Pass High School won the state football championships. On the way home the team had a fatal accident. On the Sexton Mountain pass, the bus crashed and exploded injuring 25 passengers and killing two students, Sterling Heater and Althor "Al" Newman.
Photo by Kayla Newman
On Dec. 4th, 1948, Grants Pass High School was competing at Oregon's State championships. According to OSAA records, Grants Pass High School was playing against Jefferson High School. Grants Pass had won with a victory of 6-0. The next day, the team headed home on the long journey back to Grants Pass. The bus had made a quick stop in Roseburg to refuel before the Sexton mountain pass. It was on this pass that problems started to occur. According to the Bleacher Report, a website dedicated to reporting about sports and sports cultures, "several riders on the bus noticed a distinct "rocking" or "swaying" as the old Greyhound passed a large truck." Later on, Coach Loffer noticed that the driver was having difficulty steering. The bus had lost control when it hit a patch of gravel and came to a halt when half the bus was hanging over an 80-foot embankment where the back half of the bus quickly caught aflame. The doors were jammed shut resulting in the students using their hard-earned trophy to break the windows to escape. Coach Loffer and the team were helping each other out of the inferno while bystanders rushed injured players to the nearest hospital. After the smoke cleared, two students, Althor "Al" Newman and Sterling Heater lost their lives while 25 others were injured.
A year or so after Heater and Newman's passing, a new gymnasium was erected in their honor. The Heater Newman Memorial Gymnasium was remodeled in 1997 and featured "pit-styled" seating. The entrance of the gymnasium showcases trophies that have been won over the years along with a small memorial to the 1948 bus crash.
At the funeral for Heater and Newman, teams from all over Oregon (even Medford, Grants Pass’ long-term rival) came to give their respect. If you’d like to visit Newman and Heater, they were put to rest in the Hillcrest Memorial Park directly up from the visitor center. Even though the bus crash happened over 74 years ago, the tragedy still remains fresh.
Photo taken by Kayla Newman
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