Legendary York cross-country coach Joe Newton died Saturday at his home in Arizona.
Newton, 88, began teaching at York in 1956 and became the cross country coach in 1960. He retired in November 2016 after winning 28 state cross country titles.
“Today is a sad day for not only myself and the Newton family but also the Elmhurst running community, with the past, and present men of the York cross country program,” Newton’s son Thomas said in a statement.
Newton created a running culture at York and in the Elmhurst community. It became known as “The Long Green Line,” which was also the title of a 2008 motion picture based on the team.
Newton won 28 cross-country state titles at York from 1962-2016, finished second 12 times and third 4 times for a total of 44 trophies in 57 seasons. He also win the Class AA title in track and field in 2000.
Newton was the first high school coach to be named to an Olympic coaching staff. He was in charge of marathon runners at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, Korea.
Newton graduated from Parker High School on the South Side and was a sprinter at Northwestern.
His cross-country teams at York won 20 national titles. More than 150 of his runners received college scholarships. Newton wrote four books on running and was named coach of the year 20 times by the Illinois Coaches Association.
Newton’s funeral will be private but the family hopes to have a public memorial in mid-January.
