Gary Lewis (born January 14, 1961) is an American former professional

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 ...

player who was a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL) for ten seasons. Previously, he played one season in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) for the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

. He won the

Grey Cup The Grey Cup () is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested between the winners ...

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

with the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

Early life

Born and raised in

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Oklahoma, most populous city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat ...

, Lewis played scholastically at Millwood High School, where he was a four-year letterman playing both sides of the line. He also started on state championship basketball teams as a junior and senior.

College career

Lewis played collegiately for the

Oklahoma State Cowboys The Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Oklahoma State University, located in Stillwater. The program's mascot is a cowboy named Pistol Pete. Oklahoma State participates at the National ...

, leading the team in sacks and tackles-for-loss as both a junior and senior. He was selected to the All-Big Eight first-team both years. As a senior, he was honored by the

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as a first-team

All-American 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 ...

, as well as being named to the Blue-Gray and Senior Bowl squads.

NFL career

Lewis was selected by the

in the fourth-round of the

1983 NFL draft The 1983 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 26–27, 1983, at the New York Sh ...

. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

in the preseason, and missed the first ten weeks. He was on the active roster for the last six games of the season. He spent the entire 1984 season on injured reserve with the Saints, after a routine x-ray uncovered a lump in his chest, which turned out to be malignant. He was released by the Saints on August 20, 1985, midway through the preseason.

CFL career

Two weeks later he was signed by the

Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...

to a 21-day trial, midway through the CFL season. He was activated shortly thereafter, appeared in two games for Ottawa, and was then transferred to the

. He appeared in four games for Saskatchewan, recording three sacks in his debut. Lewis spent nine more years with the Roughriders, and was a member of the 1989 team which won the Grey Cup. For his CFL career he appeared in 150 games, recording 68 sacks and 10 fumble recoveries (one for a touchdown). He was voted to the Western Division All-Star team twice, in 1988 and 1991. Lewis was inducted into the RoughRiders' Plaza of Honor in 2006.

Life after football

After retiring from the CFL, Lewis returned to his hometown of Oklahoma City, pursuing a career as a federal prison guard and officiating high school football.

References

External links

Plaza of Honor inductee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Gary 1961 births Living people Players of Canadian football from Oklahoma City American football defensive linemen Canadian football defensive linemen New Orleans Saints players Ottawa Rough Riders players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Oklahoma State Cowboys football players Players of American football from Oklahoma City All-American college football players