Tommy Lewis (American football)

Thomas Edison Lewis (October 7, 1931 – October 12, 2014) was an American gridiron football player.[1] He played fullback for the Alabama Crimson Tide in the 1951, 1952 and 1953 seasons. He wore number 42 and was co-captain of the 1953 SEC Championship team..

For other people named Tommy Lewis, see Tommy Lewis (disambiguation).
Tommy Lewis
Born:(1931-10-07)October 7, 1931
Greenville, Alabama
Died:October 12, 2014(2014-10-12) (aged 83)
Huntsville, Alabama
Career information
CFL statusAmerican
Position(s)FB
Height5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight195 lb (88 kg)
UniversityAlabama
Career history
As player
1956–1957Ottawa Rough Riders

Playing career

Lewis scored two touchdowns in the team's 1953 Orange Bowl victory over Syracuse.

In the first quarter of the 1954 Cotton Bowl Classic against Rice, he scored his team's only touchdown to give the Crimson Tide a 6–0 lead. Lewis is best remembered for his second quarter off-the-bench tackle of Rice’s halfback Dicky Moegle on a running play that started at the Rice 5-yard line. Moegle took the handoff and raced along the sideline near the Alabama bench. As Moegle passed midfield, Lewis (wearing jersey number 42) sprang from the bench to tackle Moegle. The referee awarded Rice a 95-yard touchdown on the play. Rice won the game, 28–6.[2][3][4] Lewis explained his tackle by saying that he "was just too full of Alabama."[1] Lewis and Moegle later appeared together on The Ed Sullivan Show.[5]

Lewis also played in the Canadian Football League (CFL) with the Ottawa Rough Riders.

Coaching career

In 1962, Lewis became the head coach of the Huntsville Rockets, an expansion club in the minor Dixie Professional Football League.[6]

References
  1. "Tommy Lewis, Who Made a Tackle That Wasn't, Dies at 83". The New York Times. AP. October 14, 2014.
  2. "Sport: Alabama's Twelfth Man". Time. January 11, 1954. Retrieved January 5, 2011.
  3. Heller, Dick (January 1, 2007). "Refs didn't Cotton to off-bench stop". Washington Times. Retrieved January 1, 2008.
  4. Dickey Moegle in the 1954 Cotton Bowl. Article. Retrieved on December 29, 2008.
  5. "1954 [Ed Sullivan] All America Team [Tommy Lewis -Alabama] college". Retrieved September 23, 2017 – via YouTube.
  6. Halbrooks, Hap (April 24, 1962). "Test Begins Tonight For Bucs To Show Strength". TimesDaily. p. II-5. Retrieved May 10, 2010.


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