Reg Lewis
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Reg Lewis | ||
| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Reginald Lewis | |
| Date of birth | March 7, 1920 | |
| Place of birth | Bilston, Staffordshire, England | |
| Date of death | 1997 | |
| Playing position | Centre forward | |
| Senior clubs1 | ||
| Years | Club | App (Gls)* |
| 1935-53 | Arsenal | 154 (103) |
| National team | ||
| 1950 | England B | 2 (2) |
|
1 Senior club appearances and goals |
||
Reginald "Reg" Lewis (March 7, 1920 - 1997) was an English footballer.
Born in Bilston, Staffordshire, Lewis spent his entire career at Arsenal. He joined the club as a schoolboy in 1935, and scored on his debut against Everton on January 1, 1938. He made only four appearances in 1937-38, however, and as a result missed out on a League Championship winners' medal. Lewis broke into the first-team more in 1938-39, making 16 appearances in league and cup, scoring 7 goals, but the advent of the Second World War interrupted his career.
During the war Lewis continued to play for Arsenal and clearly shone as a natural goalscorer; although wartime appearances and goals are not officially counted, it is worth noting that Lewis scored 143 goals in 130 games, including four in the 1943 War Cup Southern Final, in a 7-1 demolition of Charlton Athletic. Towards the end of the war he served in the British Army of the Rhine in Occupied Germany, but returned to play for Arsenal once first-class football resumed in 1946.
Although most of the Arsenal side of the 1930s were past their best by this time, Lewis was still only 26 and he continued to be a regular in the first team throughout the remainder of the 1940s. He was the club's top scorer in 1946-47 with 29 goals, and the following season (1947-48), he partnered new signing Ronnie Rooke and between them they scored 47 goals as Arsenal won the First Division title. Lewis continued to be a regular for the rest of the decade and he enjoyed arguably his best season in 1949-50; he scored 19 goals in 31 league games, played twice for the England B team and capped it by scoring both goals in Arsenal's 2-0 victory over Liverpool in the 1950 FA Cup Final.
However, during the early 1950s, Lewis became constantly afflicted with injuries, and he made only 12 appearances in 1951-52 and none at all in 1952-53. In the close season of 1953, he retired from the game at the age of 33. His 116 goals in 176 matches makes him Arsenal's eleventh top goalscorer of all time. After retiring, Lewis first ran a pub, then worked in insurance. He died in 1997.
[edit] References
- Harris, Jeff & Hogg, Tony (ed.) (1995). Arsenal Who's Who. Independent UK Sports. ISBN 1-899429-03-4.
