FOOTBALL

Former Oregon Ducks, New Orleans Saints wide receiver Bob Newland dies at 72

Ryan Thorburn
Register-Guard
Oregon Ducks wide receiver Bob Newland (1968-70)

The 1970 Oregon football team was loaded with future NFL stars, including Dan Fouts and Ahmad Rashad.

But a local kid from North Eugene High, Bob Newland, was the Ducks’ most valuable player that season.

Teammates shared stories and tears as news spread through the tight-knit group that Robert Vaughn Newland, a consistently reliable player and the quiet leader during the Jerry Frei era, died Wednesday morning. He was 72.

“It just hurts me in my heart,” said Rashad, the Minnesota Vikings legend and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. “What a wonderful man he was, great guy. One of the nicest people I’ve met in my whole life. …

“The day I first met Bob, he was one of my best friends right off the bat. All the conversations we had over the years always centered around our friendship and took us back to those college days.”

Newland had 67 receptions for 1,123 yards and seven touchdowns to earn All-American honors in 1970. He still ranks sixth in Oregon history for receptions in a season and third behind Dillon Mitchell (1,184 yards, 2018) and Josh Huff (1,140 yards, 2013) for receiving yards in a season.

“I really admired him,” said Fouts, Oregon’s quarterback from 1970-73 who was inducted into the Pro Football of Fame after a prolific career with the San Diego Chargers. “There are just certain guys for a quarterback that you can count on. He’s going to be where you want him to be when you want him to be there, and he’s going to catch the ball. His consistency as a player was remarkable.”

Fouts and Newland connected almost immediately in the passing game, save for their first snap together.

Tom Blanchard, the incumbent starter entering the 1970 season, injured his frail knee walking to the sideline during a timeout in the opener against California at Civic Stadium in Portland.

Enter Fouts, whose first collegiate pass was a perfect deep shot to Newland, who dropped what would have been a sure touchdown. They were able to laugh at the memory over the years since the Ducks won, 31-24.

“I never let him forget,” Fouts joked. “He said he lost it in the lights. I said, ‘You could have caught it blindfolded.’”

Newland, who had 58 receptions for 818 yards and six touchdowns over the two previous seasons, was selected by New Orleans in the seventh round of the 1972 draft and played four seasons for the Saints.

Archie Manning, who completed most of the 124 receptions for 1,877 yards and eight touchdowns Newland produced in the NFL, was one of the first people to reach out to Rashad Wednesday.

“Bob was a gamer,” Rashad said of Newland, who was the first player to wear Nike cleats in an NFL game. “He was a great receiver. He was better than people thought. … We had a great group of guys. We really bonded together and played our butts off for Jerry Frei, who was one of the greatest coaches I’ve ever had.”

Frei’s son, Terry, a longtime Denver journalist and author, said Newland made a trip to Denver to visit Tom Graham in the hospital when the legendary Oregon linebacker and seven-year NFL standout was fighting brain cancer in 2017.

"We visited Tom together," Terry Frei said. "Bob never said it, but he was saying goodbye to a special teammate. It meant a lot to Tom. He died a couple of months later. Now Tom and Bob are saying, 'Go Ducks' together.”

Ken Woody, who also played for the Ducks from 1968-70, once received a voice mail from a man stating that he worked for the NCAA and wanted to talk about some violations Woody had committed as an assistant coach at Washington State.

When Woody called the number, Newland answered.

“I got really worried. I never cheated or anything, but I thought, ‘Maybe I did cheat?’” Woody said with a laugh. “He was just an awesome guy. He did a lot for the community. He wore his greatness very well.”

Tom Drougas, an All-American offensive lineman at Oregon and the first-round pick of the Baltimore Colts in 1972, was still processing his “shock” of losing Newland Wednesday.

“I think of a good friend,” Drougas said. “I think of someone that was a person that kept people glued together. That continued to be my relationship with him.”

Newland's late father, Bob Newland Sr., was instrumental in bringing three Olympic Trials (1972, ’74 and ’80) and five NCAA Championships to Hayward Field. A letterman in basketball and track for the Ducks, Newland Sr. also partnered with legendary Oregon track coach Bill Bowerman to lay the groundwork for the development of the All-Comers Track Meets and the Prefontaine Classic.

Newland is survived by his wife Christie, son Bill, and daughter Anne.

“Bob was one of the most amazingly loyal figures I've ever met in any walk of life," said Frei, whose novel “The Witch’s Season” is based on the Oregon teams Newland played for. "He remained steadfastly loyal to my father and to his teammates, and to many, many others he encountered. His love and life with Christie and his family, both direct and extended, was inspiring and has left me awe-struck at times, especially recently."

Contact reporter Ryan Thorburn at rthorburn@registerguard.com or 541-338-2330, and follow him on Twitter @By_RyanThorburn. Want more stories like this? Subscribe to get unlimited access and support local journalism.