Norman Sterry

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Norman Sterry
Photograph of Sterry from the 1903 University of Michigan yearbook
Biographical details
Born(1878-07-08)July 8, 1878
Emporia, Kansas, US
DiedFebruary 3, 1971(1971-02-03) (aged 92)
Los Angeles, California, US
Playing career
1900–1902Michigan
Position(s)Halfback, end

Norman Sedgwick Sterry (July 8, 1878 – February 3, 1971) was an American lawyer and football player. He represented movie stars and prominent persons as a lawyer in Los Angeles and successfully represented Major League Baseball in the case that resulted in the United States Supreme Court's exemption of baseball from the antitrust laws. As a law student at the University of Michigan, Sterry played at the halfback and end positions on the Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1900 to 1902.

Early years[edit]

Sterry was born in Emporia, Kansas in 1878, the son of Clinton Norman Sterry (1843–1903) and Lousie Augusta Slocum. He was educated in the public schools in Kansas.[1] In 1892, his father, who was an attorney, became the general attorney for the Santa Fe Railroad in the region west of Albuquerque.[2] In October 1896, at age 18, Sterry moved with his family to Los Angeles.[2][3] At the time of the 1900 United States Census, Sterry was listed as a student living with his parents at 2607 Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. He had two younger sisters, Nora and Ruth, and a younger brother, Philip.[4]

Sterry received his further education at Meaney's Private School for Boys and the University of New Mexico.[3]

University of Michigan[edit]

In 1900, Sterry enrolled in the Law Department at the University of Michigan and received his law degree in 1903.[1] While at Michigan, Sterry played at the halfback and end positions on the Michigan Wolverines football teams from 1900 to 1902. He was a member of Fielding H. Yost's 1901 and 1902 "Point-a-Minute" football teams that compiled a 22–0 record and outscored opponents 1,197 to 12.[5][6][7]

Sterry's father died in May 1903,[8] the same month Sterry was admitted to the Michigan bar.[3]

Legal career[edit]

After receiving his law degree, Sterry returned to Los Angeles and was admitted to the California bar in October 1903.[3] By 1910, he had partnered with the founders of what became one of California's most prominent law firms, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. As of 1918, he was one of six lawyers listed as members of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.[1] Sterry remained with the Gibson Dunn firm throughout his career, serving as a senior partner at least into the 1950s.[9]

During the 1910s, Sterry was counsel for the Los Angeles Railway and other large companies operating in Los Angeles. In a draft registration card completed in September 1918, Sterry indicated that he was self-employed as an attorney with an office in Los Angeles at the Merchants National Bank Building, Suite 1111.[10]

In the late 1920s, Sterry represented silent film star Lillian Gish in lawsuits involving slander which received national press coverage due to the salacious allegations.[11][12][13][14][15]

In the mid-1930s, Sterry also gained national attention for a suit in which he alleged silent film star Mary Miles Minter had been systematically cheated out of her earnings by her mother. Sterry alleged that Minter had earned over $1 million, but she did not have lunch money and was left impoverished by the mother. The case was ultimately settled in the middle of the proceedings.[16][17][18][19]

Sterry also represented dime-store heiress Barbara Hutton in a child custody dispute with her former husband Cary Grant in the 1940s.[20]

In 1953, Sterry, then a senior partner at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, successfully represented the New Yankees in a case before the United States Supreme Court, Toolson v. New York Yankees, 346 U.S. 356, which upheld an exemption from the antitrust laws for Major League Baseball.[21][22][23]

Family and death[edit]

In 1909, Sterry married Josephine Lewis. At the time of the 1910 United States Census, Sterry and his wife lived in Los Angeles with Sterry's mother, Louise, and his three siblings.[24]

Sterry and his wife had a daughter, Louisa, and a son, Lewis Trask Sterry. At the time of the 1920 United States Census, Sterry was living in Los Angeles with his wife and two children.[25] At the time of the 1930 United States Census, Sterry lived on South Rossmore Street in Los Angeles with his wife, two children, and two servants.[26]

He died in February 1971 at age 92.[9][27]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c James Clark Fifield (1918). "The American Bar, Volume 1". p. 43.
  2. ^ a b Oscar Tully Shuck (1901). History of the bench and bar of California. p. 937.
  3. ^ a b c d Joseph Clement Bates (1912). History of the bench and bar of California. p. 517.
  4. ^ Census entry for Clinton N. Sterry and family. Ancestry.com. 1900 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Los Angeles Ward 3, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T623_89; Page: 14B; Enumeration District: 33.
  5. ^ "1900 Roster". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Archived from the original on 2011-05-29.
  6. ^ "1901 Roster". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Archived from the original on 2010-08-19.
  7. ^ "1902 Roster". University of Michigan, Bentley Historical Library. Archived from the original on 2010-08-19.
  8. ^ "Michigan Alumnus, Volume 10". University of Michigan Alumni Association. April 1904.
  9. ^ a b "N. S. Sterry; L.A. lawyer". Los Angeles Times. February 5, 1971. p. D5.
  10. ^ Draft Registration Card for Norman Sedgwick Sterry, born July 8, 1878. Ancestry.com. World War I Draft Registration Cards, 1917-1918 [database on-line]. Registration Location: Los Angeles County, California; Roll: 1530901; Draft Board: 12.
  11. ^ "LILLIAN GISH PLEA IN 5 MILLION SUIT "STUMPS" COURT". Chicago Tribune. September 27, 1927.
  12. ^ "GISH CASE HAS SLANDER ISSUE". Los Angeles Times. December 2, 1927.
  13. ^ "LILLIAN GISH ATTACKS 'SLANDER' DEPOSITIONS". Atlanta Constitution. December 3, 1927.
  14. ^ "MISS GISH PLEADS-SUIT ONCE TRIED". Los Angeles Times. April 19, 1928.
  15. ^ "GISH CONSPIRACY RULED OUT: Judge Will Consider Only Damage Evidence Against Actress in Duell $5,000,000 Suit". Los Angeles Times. April 20, 1928.
  16. ^ "MINTER CASE THEFTS TOLD: Henry's Story Put in Record Shelby Attorney Unopposed by Defense in Introducing Group of Confessions". Los Angeles Times. May 22, 1936. p. A1.
  17. ^ "Accuse Mother Of Movie Star". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. May 19, 1936.
  18. ^ "MINTER SUIT IS SETTLED; Agreement Is Reported Whereby Actress and Mother Cash". The New York Times. June 1936.
  19. ^ "Hint Agreement In Minter Suit". Spokane Daily Chronicle. June 8, 1936.
  20. ^ "Barbara Hutton Sought in New Suit Over Child". Los Angeles Times. May 27, 1944. p. A3.
  21. ^ "Baseball Before Supreme Court". The Evening Citizen, Ottawa, Canada. October 14, 1953.
  22. ^ "Supreme Court Baseball Hearing Continues Today". St. Petersburg Times. October 13, 1953.
  23. ^ "More Baseball Testimony Due". The Spencer Daily Reporter. October 14, 1953.
  24. ^ Census entry for Louise Sterry and family. Ancestry.com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Los Angeles Assembly District 70, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T624_80; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 0221; Image: 765; FHL Number: 1374093.
  25. ^ Census entry for Norman Sterry and family. Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Los Angeles Assembly District 63, Los Angeles, California; Roll: T625_107; Page: 13A; Enumeration District: 179; Image: 275.
  26. ^ Census entry for Norman S. Sterry and family. Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Census Place: Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California; Roll: 139; Page: 2B; Enumeration District: 161; Image: 562.0.
  27. ^ Ancestry.com. California Death Index, 1940-1997 [database on-line]. Place: Los Angeles; Date: 3 Feb 1971; Social Security: 564546700.
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