Cleveland "Cleve" Lewis (born November 1, 1955) is an American retired professional soccer player who was the first African American drafted by the

North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League (NASL) was the top-level major professional soccer league in the United States and Canada that operated from 1968 to 1984. It is considered the first soccer league to be successful on a national scale in the ...

Career

Lewis was born November 1, 1955, in Birmingham, Alabama. Raised in

Willingboro Township, New Jersey Willingboro Township (known from 1959 to 1963 as Levittown and Levittown Township) is a township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a suburb of Philadelphia and part of the state's South Jersey region. The township, a ...

, he attended John F. Kennedy High School, scoring more than 100 goals in his high school career and earning all-state honors as a senior. Lewis was an

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

selection at

Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...

and captain of the 1976

NCAA Division III Men's Soccer Championship The NCAA Division III men's soccer tournament is an annual event organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the national champions of men's collegiate soccer among its Division III members in the United States. It ...

winning team. He was named MVP of the championship final, scoring both goals, including the

golden goal The golden goal is a sports rule used in association football, Australian rules football, bandy, field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, and rugby league to decide the winner of a match (typically a knock-out match) in which scores are equal at the ...

in double overtime. By the time he graduated he was the school's all-time leader in goals with 58. In January 1978 he was selected by the

Soccer Bowl '77 Soccer Bowl '77 was the championship final of the 1977 NASL season. The New York Cosmos (who had dropped "New York" from their name in the off-season to simply "Cosmos") took on the Seattle Sounders. The match was played on August 28, 1977 a ...

champion,

Cosmos The cosmos (, ; ) is an alternative name for the universe or its nature or order. Usage of the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos is studied in cosmologya broad discipline covering ...

in the first round of the NASL's 1978 college draft, but never played for them. Acquired by the

Memphis Rogues The Memphis Rogues were a professional soccer team in the former North American Soccer League (1968–1984), North American Soccer League. They operated in the 1978 in sports, 1978, 1979 in sports, 1979, and 1980 in sports, 1980 seasons and p ...

of the

, he appeared in three regular season matches for Memphis in 1978. He joined the

New Jersey Americans New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

of the American Soccer League in 1979. After a brief stay in the preseason camp of the

Houston Hurricane The Houston Hurricane was a soccer team based out of Houston that played in the NASL. They played from 1978 to 1980. Their home field was the Astrodome. Their colors were orange, white and red. History The team was the last of six expansion ...

in 1980, Lewis decided to retire from professional soccer. In 1993 he was inducted into the Brandeis University Athletics Hall of Fame as an inaugural member.

Personal life

Lewis is the son of former U.S. hurdler Evelyn Lawler, and the older brother of U.S. Olympic gold medalist

Carl Lewis Frederick Carlton Lewis (born July 1, 1961) is an American former track and field athlete who won nine Olympic gold medals, one Olympic silver medal, and 10 World Championships medals, including eight gold. Lewis was a dominant sprinter and lo ...

, and U.S. Olympian Carol Lewis. He was named after his mother's

Tuskegee University Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU; formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute) is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama, United States. It was founded as a normal school for teachers on July 4, 1881, by the ...

track and field coach, Cleveland Abbott.

References

External links

NASL stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Cleveland 1955 births Living people African-American soccer players American Soccer League (1933–1983) players New Jersey Americans (soccer) players Soccer players from Birmingham, Alabama Brandeis University alumni Memphis Rogues players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players Sportspeople from Willingboro Township, New Jersey Soccer players from Burlington County, New Jersey Willingboro High School alumni American men's soccer players Men's association football forwards 20th-century American sportsmen