Leo Newton


Leonard Frank Newton, commonly known as Len or Leo Newton, was a Welsh footballer who played as a centre-forward or half-back and made one appearance for the Wales national team.

Club career

On Saturdays, Newton played for Cardiff Corinthians in the early 1910s as a centre-forward. He was also a founding member and captain of Cardiff Post Office Soccer Club, established in 1906, who he played for on Wednesdays. When called upon, Newton also played for Cardiff City as a forward or half-back, appearing in matches of the South Wales League. Between 1911 and 1914, he made four appearances for Cardiff City in the Southern League.

International career

Newton made his debut for the Wales amateur team on 17 February 1912 in Bishop Auckland against England, which finished as a 0–3 loss. He impressed selectors for holding Vivian Woodward during the match, thus earning himself his first and only cap for Wales on 13 April 1912 in the 1911–12 British Home Championship against Ireland. The home match, which was played in Cardiff, finished as a 2–3 loss for Wales. Newton made his second and final amateur international appearance in the following year, again a loss against England, this time by a score of 1–3 in Llandudno on 8 February.

Personal life

Newton was born to Ellen Newton in January or February 1888 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, but by 1891 he and his family lived in the English village of Beer, Devon at the age of 3. By 1901, at the age of 13, he and his family resided in Cardiff. Newton married Bertha Elizabeth Hosgood on 25 December 1909 in Cardiff, where he worked as a post office sorting clerk and telegraphist. On 7 February 1939, Newton died in Cardiff at the age of 51.

Career statistics

International