Arthur Everett "Pappy" Lewis (February 9, 1911 – June 13, 1962) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

player and coach. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most o ...

as a lineman at

Ohio University Ohio University is a public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confederation and subsequ ...

from 1932 to 1935 and then in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

being a first-round draft choice by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

in 1936 and the

Cleveland Rams The Cleveland Rams were a professional American football team that played in Cleveland from 1936 to 1945. The Rams competed in the second American Football League (AFL) for the 1936 season and the National Football League (NFL) from 1937 to 1945 ...

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 , mottoeng = "Not Unmindful of the Future" , established = , type = Private liberal arts university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.092 billion (2021) , president = William C. Dudley , provost = Lena Hill , city = Lexingt ...

from 1946 to 1948 and at

West Virginia University West Virginia University (WVU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university with its main campus in Morgantown, West Virginia. Its other campuses are those of the West Virginia University Institute of Tech ...

from 1950 to 1959, compiling a career college football record of 69–55–2. At West Virginia, Lewis led the

Mountaineers Mountaineering or alpinism, is a set of outdoor activities that involves ascending tall mountains. Mountaineering-related activities include traditional outdoor climbing, skiing, and traversing via ferratas. Indoor climbing, sport climbing, an ...

to five

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

titles and an appearance in the 1954 Sugar Bowl.

Early life and college career

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

, where he played tackle from 1932 to 1935 and earned All-American honors his senior year. He capped off his

career appearing in the 1935

East-West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...

. It was in college that he got his nickname "Pappy".

Professional career

Lewis was drafted by the

in the first round (ninth overall) of the

1936 NFL Draft The 1936 National Football League Draft was the 1st draft of National Football League (NFL). It took place on February 8, 1936, at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The draft was instituted in an effort to end bidding wars amo ...

. After playing one year, Lewis left to coach at

Ohio Wesleyan University Ohio Wesleyan University (OWU) is a private liberal arts college in Delaware, Ohio. It was founded in 1842 by methodist leaders and Central Ohio residents as a nonsectarian institution, and is a member of the Ohio Five – a consortium ...

but left a year later to join the Cleveland Rams as an assistant coach/player. He became the interim head coach mid season. This made him the youngest head coach in NFL history at the age of 27. He coached the team to a 4–4 record and stayed with the team as a player for the 1939 season.

Collegiate coaching

After serving in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during World War II, Lewis became the head coach of

. Here he found his talent as a recruiter but his overall record was 11–17. He coached one year as an assistant at

Mississippi State University Mississippi State University for Agriculture and Applied Science, commonly known as Mississippi State University (MSU), is a public land-grant research university adjacent to Starkville, Mississippi. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Univer ...

and then was appointed the head coach at

. His first couple seasons were rather lackluster but the team turned around during the 1952 season going 7–2 and finishing second in conference play. The 1953 season was his greatest season at West Virginia. The team went 8–1 in the regular season, captured the

title and started a three-year winning streak against arch-rival

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' Hig ...

. The tenth ranked Mountaineers then journeyed to the

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...

to face eighth ranked

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part o ...

where they lost 42–19. Under Lewis, the Mountaineers continued to dominate the Southern Conference winning the conference title four more times. Much of his success as a coach was credited to his recruiting abilities. He was able to attract such players as Sam Huff,

Chuck Howley Charles Louis Howley (born June 28, 1936) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. Howley spent his first two seasons with the Chicago Bears, who ...

, Joe Marconi and others. The 1958 and 1959 seasons saw a major drop off and Lewis resigned as head coach.

Later life

After leaving West Virginia, Lewis accepted a position with the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

as a talent scout and stayed with them until his death. Lewis died of a heart attack on June 13, 1962, at the age of 51. He is considered one of the greatest coaches in West Virginia history and was inducted into the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1966. He has ten great grandchildren, Caroline, Grace, and young Michael, Drew, Taylor, Sydney, Rissa, Molly, Casey and Tessa.

Head coaching record

NFL

College

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Art 1911 births 1962 deaths American football guards American football tackles Cleveland Rams players New York Giants players People from Middleport, Ohio Mississippi State Bulldogs football coaches Ohio Bobcats football players Ohio Wesleyan Battling Bishops football coaches West Virginia Mountaineers football coaches Washington and Lee Generals football coaches United States Navy personnel of World War II People from Pomeroy, Ohio Players of American football from Ohio Cleveland Rams head coaches