the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Division I ...

Jess Lewis (born July 28, 1947) is an American former

amateur wrestler Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced at Olympic, collegiate, scholastic, and other levels. There are two international wrestling styles performed at the Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the worl ...

and 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. He played as a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

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

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

in 1970. He graduated from Cascade High School in

Turner, Oregon Turner is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. The population was 2,944 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The community was incorporated by the Oregon Legislative Assembly on February 10, 1905. ...

College wrestling

Lewis was an accomplished wrestler for

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees through all 11 of the universit ...

, becoming a three-time conference champion (1968–1970), three-time All-American (1968–1970), and a two-time

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

champion (1969, 1970) in the heavyweight division. He went on to compete in the 1968

World University Games The FISU World University Games, formerly the Universiade, is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The former name is a portmanteau of the words "Universi ...

and the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Mexico 1968 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 12 to 27 October 1968, in Mexico City, Mexico. These were the first Ol ...

as a wrestler for the United States.

College football

Lewis also played college football at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

where he earned

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 ...

honors as a football player in 1967, and was a two-time All-Pac-8 Conference selection as 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 ...

. He was selected as the team MVP in 1969.

NFL football

Upon graduating from Oregon State, Lewis was selected in the 13th round of the

1970 NFL draft The 1970 NFL draft was the 35th National Football League draft and the first of the league's modern era, following the merger of the National Football League with the American Football League. It was held on January 27–28, 1970, at the Belmont ...

by the

. The Oilers moved him to linebacker upon drafting him.

References

1947 births American football defensive tackles American football linebackers Wrestlers at the 1968 Summer Olympics American male sport wrestlers Houston Oilers players Living people Olympic wrestlers for the United States Oregon State Beavers football players Oregon State Beavers wrestlers People from Marion County, Oregon Wrestlers from Oregon Players of American football from Oregon 20th-century American sportsmen {{linebacker-1940s-stub