Newton was named most valuable player in a world youth competition at 17, but suffered two severe injuries that took him off the field for more than two years.
[7] Off the field, Newton has had two car accidents, including one in 1978 in which his passenger, teammate Dave Wiggett, was fatally injured; he was sentenced to nine months in prison in 1979 after being found guilty of causing death by reckless driving.
[8][9] After the incident he moved to the United States, playing for the New England/Jacksonville Tea Men in the North American Soccer League in 1980 and 1981.
[5][10] Newton returned to English football and was well received by fans at the Victoria Ground, and for three years, formed a strike partnership with teammate Keith Houchen.
[12][13] "Valiants" manager John McGrath nicknamed Newton and strike partner Ernie Moss as the "Kray twins" due to their dominance of opposition defenders.
[14] We were quite a big, physical team and, in Bob Newton, had this barrel-chested striker who just loved a battle with the opposition centre-halves.
[6][18][16] After his return to Hartlepool, Newton struggled with illness and injury and was limited to two goals in 11 league matches before being loaned to Stockport County and subsequently released.
He then played for the Cyprus-based AEP Paphos and Hong Kong's Eastern and Lai Sun, before returning to England.