No relation to Billy Newton, at almost 13st, Frank 'Bonzo' Newton was a heavyweight centre-forward in every way, big-hearted and a prodigious goalscorer with a thunderous shot.

After running away to sea as a boy, Newton joined the army where he excelled at a number of sports, representing the service at football, rugby, hockey and boxing. When he left the army, he joined non-league Ashton United before the colourful character brought himself to County's attention.

Whilst the Hatters' players were training, Newton watched them and whenever the ball came towards him, he kicked it back ferociously. Manager Lincoln Hyde was impressed and, within a week, on 13 January 1928, Newton was a County player.

In his first 18 months, Frank Newton's opportunities were limited by the presence of Joe Smith and Harry Burgess but, even so, he scored an impressive 18 goals in his first 22 appearances, scoring twice on six occasions.

In 1929-30, the chance for new forwards to shine arose as Joe Smith had ended his League career and Harry Burgess had moved on to Sheffield Wednesday.

Frank Newton partnered new signing Andy Lincoln and although the latter's 28 League and Cup goals was a surprising achievement, it was Newton who grabbed the headlines as he scored 38 goals in as many games.

In September, 1929, he became only the second County player to score five goals in a match and added another three hat-tricks during the season. Even more remarkable than Newton's goalscoring exploits was the fact that at the beginning of January 1930, after scoring 21 goals in the first 22 matches of the season, he was actually dropped for seven matches! His replacement, Jack Everest, scored six goals in five games (which included four goals against Carlisle United) before he too was left out, Newton being recalled towards the end of February.

In the following season, whilst Andy Lincoln lost his goalscoring touch, 'Bonzo' Newton could not stop scoring, collecting another 37 goals in 41 appearances.

After scoring 93 goals in only 101 League and Cup appearances, it was not surprising that Newton moved on, only that he joined another Third Division team, Fulham, in the summer of 1931 for a mere £575.

In his first season at Craven Cottage, Fulham were promoted to the Second Division and followed that by nearly gaining promotion to Division 1, finishing in third place. During these two seasons, Newton demonstrated that he could find the net at higher levels, 74 goals coming from only 75 League and Cup appearances.

Without any apparent reason, Frank Newton was transferred to Third Division Reading for £650. Still the scoring went on, 29 goals in 32 league matches before he returned to Fulham in October, 1934.

A direct result of Newton's transfer to Reading was the dismissal of Fulham's manager, James McIntyre, who alone had been responsible for allowing one of the game's most prodigious scorers to move on for £650 whilst replacing him with a player, Jack Lambert of Arsenal, at a cost of £2,500, who was felt to be clearly past his best.

Unfortunately, Newton's return to Craven Cottage took a cruel twist, the player breaking his leg in a friendly only two months after he had re-signed.

At the age of 32 and having scored an incredible 192 goals in 209 League appearances for his three clubs, 'Bonzo' Newton's career was over and he returned to the Stockport area.

Frank Newton's League Career
Team	Date Signed	Apps	Gls
Stockport County	Jan 1928	94	86
Fulham	Jul 1931	74	72
Reading	July 1933	32	29
Fulham	Oct 1934	9	5
Total		209	192