Daniel Lewis (11 December 1902 – 1965) was a Welsh

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

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, who is most notable for his time playing for

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. He kept goal for Arsenal in the 1927 FA Cup Final where a mistake by him saw

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win the cup.

Playing career

Born in Maerdy,

Glamorgan Glamorgan (), or sometimes Glamorganshire ( or ), was Historic counties of Wales, one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It is located in the South Wales, south of Wales. Originally an ea ...

, Lewis first played for local clubs, before moving to

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and joining Clapton Orient. He also worked as a coal miner. His move to the big time came in 1924 when he joined First Division Arsenal. He made his debut for the Gunners on 15 November 1924 against Everton; Arsenal won 3–2 and Lewis remained for the next thirteen games. However, after letting in five in a match at home to

Huddersfield Town Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional association football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. They compete in , the third tier of English football league system, English football. Huddersfield Town we ...

on 14 February 1925, Lewis was dropped. After

Herbert Chapman Herbert Chapman (19 January 1878 – 6 January 1934) was an English Association football, football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most influential and successful manage ...

arrived as Arsenal manager in 1925, Lewis shared goalkeeping duties with Jock Robson and Bill Harper, but Lewis gradually became the club's No. 1, particularly after Robson and Harper left in 1926 and 1927 respectively. He won his first cap for

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

in a 3–3 draw against

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on 12 February 1927. In all he won three caps, the last of which was a 6–0 defeat by England at Stamford Bridge on 20 November 1929. Lewis was the Arsenal goalkeeper in the 1927 FA Cup Final against

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; it was the Gunners' first Cup final. In the 74th minute, Cardiff striker Hughie Ferguson hit a tame shot straight at Lewis, who dived down to make what should have been a comfortable save. However, Lewis fumbled the ball as he gathered it, and it slipped between his body and the crook of his elbow; Lewis turned around and tried in vain to reclaim the ball but only succeeded in knocking it with his elbow into the back of the net. Cardiff won the match 1–0, the only time a Welsh club has won the FA Cup. Lewis blamed his brand new

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for the error, saying the wool was too greasy for him to grip the ball properly; since then, according to club legend, no Arsenal goalkeeper has played in a New Jersey before it is washed first. Lewis continued to play as Arsenal's regular goalkeeper for the next three seasons. However, when they reached Wembley for their second Cup final in 1930, Lewis was injured in Arsenal's 6-6 semifinal tie with Leicester City. He missed the final and needed major surgery on his knee. He never fully recovered from this which effectively finished his football career. Arsenal, with Charlie Preedy in goal, beat Huddersfield 2–0 to claim their first major trophy. Lewis hardly featured at all the following season, particularly after the signings of Bill Harper (for a second spell on a goalkeeper record fee of £4000) and Gerard Keizer. He was transferred to Gillingham in May 1931. In all he played 169 matches for Arsenal. Lewis played only six times for Gillingham and apparently retired from professional football soon after. He died in 1965, at the age of 62.

Honours

Arsenal *

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

runner-up: 1926–27

References

External links

BBC Wales on Air - 1927 FA Cup Final
with video footage of Lewis's error. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Dan 1902 births 1965 deaths People from Rhondda Welsh men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Leyton Orient F.C. players Arsenal F.C. players Gillingham F.C. players Wales men's international footballers