Fred Digby

Frederick (Fred) Joseph Digby (January 26, 1893 – November 3, 1958), was a sportswriter based in New Orleans. He was the founding member and first general manager of the Sugar Bowl, one of the oldest college bowl games in the United States.

Biography Digby began writing for the New Orleans Item newspaper in 1912; he was named sports editor in 1923 and served in that role until his retirement from the Item in 1947.

In 1927, Digby and Colonel James M. Thomson, publisher of the New Orleans Item, first proposed the formation of a New Year's Eve college football bowl in New Orleans. For several years, Digby pursued the idea each fall until finally the New Orleans Mid-Winter Sports Association (later the Sugar Bowl Committee) was formed on February 15, 1934. The inaugural Sugar Bowl football classic was played on January 1, 1935.

Death Fred Digby died on November 3, 1958, after a short illness, at the age of 65; he is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, New Orleans. Mary Digby died in 1986 and is buried in the same plot as her husband.