Ronald Vernon Newman (19 January 1934 – 27 August 2018) was an English professional

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

player and coach. He was a member of the American National Soccer Hall of Fame.

Life

Born in Fareham, Newman, after

non-league football Non-League football describes association football, football leagues played outside the top leagues of a country. Usually, it describes leagues which are not fully professional. The term is primarily used for football in England, where it is s ...

with

Woking Woking ( ) is a town and borough status in the United Kingdom, borough in northwest Surrey, England, around from central London. It appears in Domesday Book as ''Wochinges'' and its name probably derives from that of a Anglo-Saxon settlement o ...

, played in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

with

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city status in the United Kingdom, city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is admi ...

, Leyton Orient, Crystal Palace and Gillingham. In 1967 Newman came to the United States to play for the

Atlanta Chiefs The Atlanta Chiefs were an American professional soccer team based in Atlanta, Georgia. The team competed in the National Professional Soccer League (NPSL) in 1967 and the North American Soccer League (NASL) from 1968 to 1973 and again from 19 ...

in the National Professional Soccer League (where he was team MVP in 1967), before being traded to the Dallas Tornado during the 1968 season. In addition to playing for the Tornado, Newman also served as an assistant coach during the 1968 season. The next year, Newman became both the head coach, as well as a player, for the Tornado until 1974. At the end of that season, he retired from playing and became the team's dedicated head coach for the 1975 season. He took the Tornado to the NASL championship in 1971. In 1976, he coached the Los Angeles Skyhawks of the American Soccer League (ASL), taking them to the ASL championship, making Newman the only coach to win both an NASL and ASL title. He then returned to the NASL in 1977 to coach the Fort Lauderdale Strikers, where he stayed until 1979. That season, he was forced to don a players uniform and play part of one game after a union strike decimated his team. In July 1980 Newman became coach of the San Diego Sockers. While he had the best Win/Loss record as an outdoor soccer coach, and was named NASL coach of the year in 1971, 1977 and 1984, as well as ASL coach of the year in 1976, he also made his mark in

indoor soccer Indoor soccer or arena soccer (known internationally as indoor football, fast football, or showball) is five-a-side version of minifootball, derived from association football and adapted to be played in walled hardcourt indoor arena. Indoor so ...

with San Diego with whom he won 10 championships in 11 seasons in two different leagues (NASL and MISL), only losing a semi-final in 1986–1987 to the Tacoma Stars, bringing his career total to 13. Newman's innovations added new positions and tactics to the indoor game including the

sixth attacker An extra attacker in ice hockey and ringette is a forward or, less commonly, a defenceman who has been substituted in place of the goaltender. The purpose of this substitution is to gain an offensive advantage to score a goal. The removal of the ...

and super power play. He along with Eddie Firmani and Al Miller are the only coaches to win both outdoor and indoor NASL titles. Newman became the first coach hired by the MLS when he joined the

Kansas City Wizards Sporting Kansas City, often shortened to Sporting KC, is an American men's professional soccer club based in the Kansas City metropolitan area. The administrative offices are located in Downtown Kansas City, Missouri, and the team clubhouse an ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Cana ...

in 1995. The Wizards won the Western Division title in 1997. Newman retired 1999 with an all-time coaching record of 753–296–27. He was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame in 1992. He was inducted into the Dallas Walk of Fame 2006. He was also inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions, as well as the Atlanta Soccer Hall of Fame. Newman received the 'Key of the City' in Fort Lauderdale and twice in San Diego. The championship trophy of the Major Arena Soccer League was named the Ron Newman Cup when the present version of the San Diego Sockers honoured him on 7 January 2012. Newman was the father of coach and retired player Guy Newman. Guy served as an assistant coach on his father's staff in both San Diego and Kansas City.

References

External links

NASL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Newman, Ron 1934 births 2018 deaths People from Fareham English footballers English football managers Expatriate soccer managers in the United States Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) players Portsmouth F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players English Football League players National Professional Soccer League (1967) players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Atlanta Chiefs players Dallas Tornado players National Soccer Hall of Fame members North American Soccer League (1968–1984) coaches American Soccer League (1933–1983) coaches Sporting Kansas City coaches Major Indoor Soccer League (1978–1992) coaches Woking F.C. players Fort Lauderdale Strikers (1977–1983) coaches Association football outside forwards San Diego Sockers English emigrants to the United States English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States English expatriate footballers