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Michael Lee Lewis (born November 14, 1971) is a former American football wide receiver and return specialist who is currently the team ambassador of the New Orleans Saints.Krysten Oliphan
"Michael Lewis reveling in new job with Saints"
, ''Monroe News-Star'', July 9, 2010.
He was signed by the Louisiana Bayou Beast in 1998. He did not play
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 ...
. Lewis was also a member of the New Orleans Thunder, New Jersey Red Dogs, Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans Saints, San Francisco 49ers and
New Orleans VooDoo Louisiana Voodoo (french: Vaudou louisianais, es, Vudú de Luisiana), also known as New Orleans Voodoo, is an African diasporic religion which originated in Louisiana, now in the southern United States. It arose through a process of syncretis ...
.


Early years

Lewis graduated from
Grace King High School Grace King High School is a public high school located in Metairie, unincorporated Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is a part of the Jefferson Parish Public Schools and serves portions of Metairie and Kenner.
in
Metairie, Louisiana Metairie ( ) is a census-designated place (CDP) in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, United States, and is part of the New Orleans metropolitan area. With a population of 143,507 in 2020, Metairie is the largest community in Jefferson Parish and was (a ...
in 1990. Despite being a promising athlete, Lewis only played football during his freshman year before quitting to help his family with their rough financial situation by getting a job. He became a father during his senior year of high school and chose to focus on supporting his newborn child instead of playing football or going to college.


Professional career


Early career

Prior to his pro football career, Lewis was a Budweiser beer truck driver (thus, the nickname "Beer Man") whose truck route was a short distance from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome. In his early 20's, a friend introduced Lewis to an amateur flag football league that was having open tryouts. After seeing extreme success in flag football, Lewis decided to pursue his dream of playing pro football and waded through the various semi-professional football leagues, pro indoor leagues, and the Arena Football League, amassing impressive stats that resulted in him getting invites to various NFL training camps.


Philadelphia Eagles

Lewis was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles during the preseason in 2000. He was cut before the regular season began.


New Orleans Saints

Lewis returned to his hometown to deliver beer locally. However, the New Orleans Saints signed Lewis at the end of the 2000 NFL regular season. The Saints sent Lewis to play for the Rhein Fire of
NFL Europe NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...
in 2001. Lewis was the Saints' feature return specialist from 2002 until September 19, 2005 during a game against 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. ...
at the Meadowlands, when he injured his
MCL The litre (international spelling) or liter (American English spelling) (SI symbols L and l, other symbol used: ℓ) is a metric unit of volume. It is equal to 1 cubic decimetre (dm3), 1000 cubic centimetres (cm3) or 0.001 cubic metre (m ...
and was put 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 th ...
for the rest of the season. Lewis returned to play for the Saints on October 29, 2006 during a home game against the Baltimore Ravens. In 2002, Lewis set an NFL record for combined kick-punt return yardage with 2,432 yards total (1,807 kickoff, 625 punt), leading the league in punt return yards, kickoff return yards, and all-purpose yards. He is currently the Saints' all-time career leader in punt returns (142) and punt return yardage (1,482). On December 21, 2003, he also played a role in the River City Relay as one of the receivers that would lateral a touchdown in a last second attempt to win the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars (in which the Saints lost). The River City Relay won an ESPY, NFL play of the year, and an ESPN.com internet poll. In April 2006 Lewis returned to the Saints after recovering from a knee injury. The Saints released Lewis on June 15, 2007. The local New Orleans newspaper, the '' Times-Picayune'', titled the news, "There's a Tear in My Beer".


San Francisco 49ers

On September 25, 2007, the San Francisco 49ers signed Lewis to take over punt return duties. The incumbent punt returner, Brandon Williams, was released.


New Orleans VooDoo

Lewis signed a contract with the
New Orleans VooDoo Louisiana Voodoo (french: Vaudou louisianais, es, Vudú de Luisiana), also known as New Orleans Voodoo, is an African diasporic religion which originated in Louisiana, now in the southern United States. It arose through a process of syncretis ...
on October 10, 2008. Team officials were preparing to make the announcement the following week, but the owner ( Tom Benson, also the owner of the New Orleans Saints) decided to terminate operations on October 13, 2008.


Post-retirement

Lewis subsequently took a position as a "Team Ambassador" for the Saints. Though no longer an active player, Lewis was awarded a Super Bowl ring after the Saints won Super Bowl XLIV in recognition of his continuing role with the team. Lewis was selected for the Saints Hall of Fame in 2015.Joel A. Erickson
"Michael Lewis, Tyrone Hughes announced as next inductees to Saints Hall of Fame"
''
The Advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. The Advocate, The Advocates or Advocate may also refer to: Magazines * ''The Advocate'' (LGBT magazine), an LGBT magazine based in the United States *''The Harvard Advocate'', a literary magazin ...
'', May 19, 2015.
In 2019, it was announced that biopic about Michael Lewis's life was being produced under the name "The Beer Man" with Aldis Hodge attached to the lead role.


NFL career statistics

Receiving Stats Returning Stats


Awards and honors

* New Orleans Saints Hall of Fame (2015) * 2011 American Football Association Semi Pro Hall of Fame * 2004 NFC Special Teams Player of the Week (Week 16) * 2002 NFL Pro Bowl * Associated Press First-team All-Pro * 2002 NFC Special Teams Player of the Week (Week 6) * NFL Alumni Special Teams Player of the Year * '' Sports Illustrated'' All-Pro * College & Pro Football Newsweekly First-team All-Pro * '' Pro Football Weekly'' All-NFL and All-NFC * ''
Football Digest ''Football Digest'' was a sports magazine for fans interested in professional American football, with in-depth coverage of the National Football League (NFL). The magazine modeled the '' Reader's Digest'' idea, to bring the best in football journ ...
'' First-team All-Pro * '' The Sporting News'' All-Pro * 2000 AFL All-Rookie Team * 1998
PIFL The Professional Indoor Football League (PIFL) was a professional indoor football league that played four seasons from 2012 to 2015. Like the Lone Star Football League, the PIFL was mainly composed of teams formerly part of Southern Indoor Fo ...
All-Star First-team


References


External links


American Football Association Hall of Fame


* ttp://www.49ers.com/team/roster_detail.php?PRKey=157§ion=TE%20Roster San Francisco 49ers bio {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Michael 1971 births Living people African-American players of American football Players of American football from New Orleans American football return specialists American football wide receivers Grace King High School alumni Regional Football League players New Jersey Red Dogs players Philadelphia Eagles players New Orleans Saints players Rhein Fire players San Francisco 49ers players National Conference Pro Bowl players 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American sportspeople