Lewis pictured in The 1960 Monticola, West Virginia yearbook
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Sport(s) | Football |
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Biographical details | |
Born |
Pomeroy, Ohio |
February 9, 1911
Died | June 13, 1962 | (aged 51)
Playing career | |
1932–1935 | Ohio |
1936 | New York Giants |
1938–1939 | Cleveland Rams |
Position(s) | Tackle |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1937 | Ohio Wesleyan (assistant) |
1938 | Cleveland Rams (interim HC) |
1946–1948 | Washington and Lee |
1949 | Mississippi State (line) |
1950–1959 | West Virginia |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 69–55–2 (college) 4–4 (NFL) |
Bowls | 0–1 |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
5 SoCon (1953–1956, 1958) |
Arthur " Pappy" Lewis (February 9, 1911 – June 13, 1962) was an American football player and coach. He played college football as a lineman at Ohio University from 1932 to 1935 and then in the National Football League being a first-round draft choice by the New York Giants in 1936 and the Cleveland Rams from 1938 to 1939. Lewis also served as the interim head coach for the Rams for the last eight games of the 1938 season becoming the youngest head coach in NFL history. He was the head football coach at Washington and Lee University from 1946 to 1948 and at West Virginia University from 1950 to 1959, compiling a career college football record of 69–55–2. At West Virginia, Lewis led the Mountaineers to five Southern Conference titles and an appearance in the 1954 Sugar Bowl.
Born February 18, 1911 in Pomeroy, Ohio, Lewis was a standout tackle at Middleport High School in Middleport, Ohio. At the age of 21, he enrolled at Ohio University, where he played tackle from 1932 to 1935 and earned All-American honors his senior year. He capped off his college football career appearing in the 1935 East-West Shrine Game. It was in college that he got his nickname "Pappy".