Frank Newton

Frank Newton was a centre forward who played at Fulham in two seperate spells, from 1931 until 1933, and from 1934 until 1935. Nicknamed "Bonzo", he was one of the club's most prolific ever goalscorers, with a ratio of close to a goal a game over a total of 88 appearances. His playing career was ended somewhat prematurely when he suffered a broken leg during a friendly match against FK Austria Wien in December 1934.

Before Fulham
Frank was born in Romiley, a small village in what was then Cheshire as one of 19 children, leading an interesting life prior to becoming a footballer. Two of his brothers also went on to play professional football - William, for Manchester City, Accrington Stanley and Southend United, and Andrew for Port Vale.

He was a naturally-gifted sportsman, proving himself in most disciplines he would try a hand at. He left home to join the Army and served in British India, winning representative honours in football, rugby and hockey as well as being a good light-heavyweight boxer.

He later sailed round the world in a cargo boat, was a Sergeant in the Calcutta Police and an engineer on the East India Railway before returning to England in 1925 to rejoin Ashton National FC, a club funded by the National Gas and Oil Engine Company.

In 1926, he joined Welsh side Pontypridd, but the club was suffering and disolved shortly after his arrival. He was signed by hometown Third Division North side Stockport County in 1927 and made his debut at Ashington in March 1928, his only appearance in his debut season.

The 1928-29 season first marked Frank's emergence as a prolific goalscorer. Coming into the Hatters’ first team at the start of December, he scored braces in each of his first four matches, and finished the season with 18 goals in 21 matches, as Stockport narrowly missed out on promotion, finishing runners up of the Third Division North.

Frank would go on to score a further 38 goals in as many matches during 1929-30, finishing as the Third Division's top goalscorer, his tally including 5 goals in a 6-1 win over Nelson in September 1929, 4 goals in a 6-1 win over Rotherham United in March 1930, and hat-tricks in wins over Halifax Town and Doncaster Rovers. Stockport, however, again missed out on promotion, finishing once more as League runners up.

Another prolific season followed in 1930-31, with hat-tricks against Gateshead and Lincoln City to comfortably stay as Stockport’s leading goalscorer with 37 goals in 41 appearances.

Fulham (1931-1933 & 1934-1935)
Noticing his goalscoring exploits with Stockport, Fulham paid £575 for his services and he signed for the club in May 1931. Stockport received only £375 of the fee, with the other £200 going to Ashton National.

In his first season at Craven Cottage, Frank bagged a remarkable 47 goals in 44 appearances - still a club record. These goals included League hat-tricks at Exeter City, Coventry City and Luton Town, and an FA Cup treble at Yeovil Town (oddly all his hat-tricks came away from home!) and he was the main component for helping an otherwise strong Fulham team win the Third Division South with ease in 1932.

By the time he’d scored his 50th goal for Fulham in 1932-33, he’d taken only three more matches to do so. A further 27 goals in only 31 games at the higher level of the Second Division saw the club only just miss out on back to back promotions after a third placed finish, with Frank yet again finishing the highest scorer that season.

After having scored a remarkable 76 goals in 83 appearances for Fulham, he was inexplicably sold to Reading, who were playing in the Third Division South, for £650 in September 1933. Scoring on his Royals debut in a win over Southend United, he went on to score 27 goals in only 28 games for Reading during the rest of the season, and he was Reading’s leading goalscorer during the campaign.

Having scored four goals in six matches at the beginning of 1934-35, he was allowed a return to Fulham at the start of October 1934 - this time the Whites payed a transfer fee of £400 for his services. However, after a further five goals in nine appearances for Fulham, including 2 goals on his final League appearance in a 4-1 win over Swansea Town, Frank suffered a career ending broken leg in a friendly against FK Austria Wien two days later on 3 December 1934. In attempting a shot on goal inside the penalty area, his leg was tangled with an opposing player, causing his to break his right fibula just below the knee.

After complications throughout his recovery, it was announced in April 1935 that he was forced into retiring at the age of 32. This proved the end of seven years of Newton terrorising defences, his career total of 205 goals including only 6 penalties, coming in only 223 appearances.

After Fulham
After the end of his football career, he did not stay in the game to coach or manage, and returned to the Stockport area. In the 1940's he managed the Bredbury Steelworks factory.

He remained in the Tameside area for the rest of his life, and died in 1977 at the age of 75.

Fulham

 * Third Division South
 * Winners (1): 1931-32