Lewis, educated at the
Monoux School,
Walthamstow, began his football career as a 16-year-old with the famous amateur side
Walthamstow Avenue (his father had also played for them) and in three stints with the club scored 423 goals in 522 appearances, mainly as a
centre forward. He had briefly left Walthamstow in November 1950 to play for
Leyton Orient, but after playing as an amateur in 4 League games he rejected their contract terms. Lewis was a key part of the Walthamstow side which reached the
FA Cup fourth round in 1953, beating sides such as
Stockport County and
Watford and drawing 1–1 with
Manchester United at
Old Trafford, before losing 5–2 in the replay. Just days later, Lewis received a telephone call from
Chelsea manager
Ted Drake, and promptly signed for the club. In the days when the disparity between the pay of amateur and professional footballers was minimal, Lewis never turned professional, although his Chelsea teammate
Derek Saunders, who also played for Walthamstow, did. He juggled his playing time with working as a salesman for
Thermos flasks which, unlike many of his fellow players, allowed him to have a car. With
Roy Bentley established as Chelsea's centre forward, Lewis was switched to either outside or inside left. He made his Chelsea debut in October 1952 against
Charlton Athletic and scored in a 2–2 draw. His most noteworthy contribution to Chelsea was to be a member of their
1954–55 championship-winning side. He played in 17 league games that season, and scored 6 goals, including crucial goals in wins over
Bolton Wanderers,
Sheffield United and
Tottenham Hotspur. Chelsea's professional players each received a suit to commemorate the success, but Lewis instead received an illuminated address from the club. Lewis remained with Chelsea until 1958, and scored 40 goals in 95 appearances for the club. He was also a member of the representative
London XI which competed in the
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup in
1958. He played in the 6–0 second-leg loss in the final against
FC Barcelona. Lewis won 49
caps for the
England amateur national side, and also played for the Great Britain
football team at the
1952,
1956 and
1960 Olympic Games. ==References==