- Reg Lewis
Infobox Football biography
playername = Reg Lewis
fullname = Reginald Lewis
dateofbirth =March 7 ,1920
cityofbirth =Bilston ,Staffordshire
countryofbirth =England
dateofdeath = 1997
cityofdeath =
countryofdeath =
height =
position =Centre forward
youthyears =
youthclubs =
years = 1935-53
clubs = Arsenal
caps(goals) = 154 (103)
nationalyears = 1950
nationalteam = England B
nationalcaps(goals) = 2 (2)Reginald "Reg" Lewis (
March 7 ,1920 - 1997) was an English footballer.Born in
Bilston ,Staffordshire , Lewis spent his entire career at Arsenal. He joined the club as a schoolboy in 1935, and scored on his debut against Everton onJanuary 1 ,1938 . He made only four appearances in 1937-38, however, and as a result missed out on a League Championship winners' medal. Lewis broke into the first-team more in 1938-39, making 16 appearances in league and cup, scoring 7 goals, but the advent of theSecond World War interrupted his career.During the war Lewis continued to play for Arsenal and clearly shone as a natural goalscorer; although wartime appearances and goals are not officially counted, it is worth noting that Lewis scored 143 goals in 130 games, including four in the 1943 War Cup Southern Final, in a 7-1 demolition of Charlton Athletic. Towards the end of the war he served in the
British Army of the Rhine inOccupied Germany , but returned to play for Arsenal once first-class football resumed in 1946.Although most of the Arsenal side of the 1930s were past their best by this time, Lewis was still only 26 and he continued to be a regular in the first team throughout the remainder of the 1940s. He was the club's top scorer in 1946-47 with 29 goals, and the following season (1947-48), he partnered new signing
Ronnie Rooke and between them they scored 47 goals as Arsenal won the First Division title. Lewis continued to be a regular for the rest of the decade and he enjoyed arguably his best season in 1949-50; he scored 19 goals in 31 league games, played twice for the England B team and capped it by scoring both goals in Arsenal's 2-0 victory over Liverpool in the 1950 FA Cup Final.However, during the early 1950s, Lewis became constantly afflicted with injuries, and he made only 12 appearances in 1951-52 and none at all in 1952-53. In the close season of 1953, he retired from the game at the age of 33. His 116 goals in 176 matches makes him Arsenal's eleventh top goalscorer of all time. After retiring, Lewis first ran a pub, then worked in
insurance . He died in 1997.References
*cite book
author=Harris, Jeff & Hogg, Tony (ed.)
title=Arsenal Who's Who
publisher=Independent UK Sports
year=1995
id=ISBN 1-899429-03-4
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