Ark Newton
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| Florida Gators | |
|---|---|
| Position | Halfback, Guard (basketball) |
| Class | 1924 |
| Major | Law |
| Career history | |
| College | |
| High school | Camden |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | January 31, 1903 |
| Place of birth | Camden, Arkansas |
| Date of death | January 1974 |
| Place of death | Nashville, Tennessee |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Robert Dee "Ark" Newton, Jr. (January 31, 1903 – January, 1974) was an American college football for the Florida Gators football team of the University of Florida. Newton was also a member of the Florida Gators baseball, basketball and track teams.
Newton was born on January 31, 1903 in Camden, Arkansas to Robert Dee Newton, Sr. and Cornelia Ellen Newton. His father was a real estate agent.
Newton was called "Ark" by his college teammates because he came from Arkansas; before and after college, he was known as "Bud" to his Arkansas friends. He first starred as an all-state tackle at Camden High School in Camden. While there he worked as a derrick man and driver of an eight-wheeled truck in the oil fields of Arkansas. The first university Newton attended was Hendrix College in Conway, Arkansas. He was a member of the football, baseball, basketball, and track teams, earning a medal as the best all-around athlete at the school.
Upon leaving Hendrix at the age of 18, Newton worked for the government on the Mississippi River between Vicksburg and Natchez as a foreman of a group of laborers building willow mattresses for use in levee construction. Many of the engineers he worked with had attended the University of Florida, and their praise intrigued Newton enough to come.
Newton was an engineering major before changing to law. He won a total of 14 varsity letters at Florida and twice lettered in football, baseball, basketball and track in the same year. At the time he set a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) record in the broad jump at 22 feet, 5 inches (also reported as 22 feet, 9 inches). He also once held the Southeastern Pentathlon championship.
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