Fred Digby

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.^[2]

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.^[3][4] 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.^[3][5] The inaugural Sugar Bowl football classic was played on January 1, 1935.^[3] The Sugar Bowl has been played annually on New Year's Day ever since.^[4]

Digby is referred to as the "Father of the Sugar Bowl"^[2] and is credited with giving the Sugar Bowl its name.^[3][5] He described the success of the first college football bowl in New Orleans as "a dream come true".^[4] He was a long-term member of the Sugar Bowl Committee and, after retiring as sports editor for the Item, he served as general manager of the Sugar Bowl until his death in 1958.^[3]

The game's Miller-Digby Award was named in honor of Digby and the first president of the Sugar Bowl, Warren V. Miller.^[3][5]

In March 2018, Fred Digby and Warren Miller were honored with the Football Bowl Association’s Legacy Award for 2018.^[5]

He was married to Mary Frances Digby.^[4] They had four children: Anna (born c.1918), Fred Junior (born c.1920), Noel (born c.1925) and Doris (born c.1928).^[6]

Fred Digby died on November 3, 1958, after a short illness,^[2] at the age of 65; he is buried in Greenwood Cemetery, New Orleans.^[1] Mary Digby died in 1986 and is buried in the same plot as her husband.^[1]