NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – Michael Lupin Field at Isidore Newman School is named after a courageous young man who never played a down of football.
“From the beginning of his life, he didn’t have a good shot at things,” his uncle, Dr. Arnold Lupin told WGNO’s Ed Daniels.
Michael Lupin was diagnosed with a kidney disorder as a child. He needed two surgeries, and the ailment prevented him from playing sports.
At age 14, Michael had back pain. When he visited doctors, he was told that he had cancer. He knew he would die young, but lived with a smile on his face.
“I took care of him at that time, and I don’t remember him not having a smile on his face,” Dr. Arnold Lupin recalls.
2-years-later, Lupin died on October 1, 1972.
“He asked to see a psychiatrist. When the psychiatrist came out of the room, he was crying because his concern was not for himself but how his parents would react to his passing away,” Dr. Arnold Lupin said.
The Lupin family is one of the most philanthropic in New Orleans, so they thought it was appropriate to give the gift to Isidore Newman School for Michael Lupin Field.
On Friday nights, there is much joy on this field, which is exactly the way Michael lived his brief but incredibly significant life.
Learn more about the names behind local football stadiums, click here.