Cliff Lewis (quarterback)
Lewis in 1946
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| No. 62 | |||||||||
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| Position: | Quarterback, Defensive back | ||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||
| Date of birth: | March 22, 1923 | ||||||||
| Place of birth: | Cleveland, Ohio | ||||||||
| Date of death: | July 24, 2002 (aged 79) | ||||||||
| Place of death: | Tampa, Florida | ||||||||
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) | ||||||||
| Weight: | 168 lb (76 kg) | ||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||
| High school: | Lakewood High School, Staunton Military Academy | ||||||||
| College: | Duke University | ||||||||
| NFL Draft: | 1946 / Round: 21 / Pick: 200 | ||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of 1951 | |||||||||
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| Player stats at PFR | |||||||||
| Games: | 71 |
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| Interceptions: | 30 |
| Punt Return Yards: | 710 |
| Player stats at NFL.com | |
Clifford Allen Lewis (March 22, 1923 – July 24, 2002) was a professional American football player for the Cleveland Browns of the All-America Football Conference and National Football League. He was the team's first quarterback.
Lewis attended Lakewood High School in Lakewood, Ohio, and Staunton Military Academy in Virginia. He went to Duke University, where he played football as a back. He was a member of the Duke Blue Devils basketball team during the 1944–1945 season. Lewis joined the Browns after graduating from college and spent his entire professional career with the team, playing primarily as a defensive back. He left the game after the 1951 season to concentrate on his insurance business. Lewis died in 2002.
Lewis grew up in Lakewood, Ohio and attended Lakewood High School. He played football and baseball, and was on a Lakewood basketball team that reached the state high school championship game in 1941. Lakewood's football team tied for the Lake Erie League championship in 1940 and 1941, when Lewis played left halfback. Lewis later transferred to Staunton Military Academy in Virginia, and in 1942 set a school scoring record in football with 14 touchdowns and 282 total points.
After graduating, Lewis attended Duke University in Durham, North Carolina and played as a back on the school's Blue Devils football team. Lewis was Duke's second-string tailback as a sophomore in 1944, but he took over starting duties after the original first-stringer, Allen Elger, suffered a knee injury. Lewis, however, broke his elbow in the team's second game of the season against the University of Pennsylvania and had to sit out. He returned for a November game against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and in a 34–0 victory on November 11 against the previously undefeated Wake Forest University he passed to receiver Clark Jones for a touchdown. Later in November, he passed to Harold Raether for the final touchdown in a 33-0 win over the University of North Carolina that gave Duke a second consecutive Southern Conference title and a spot in 1944's Sugar Bowl game against the University of Alabama. Lewis's passing helped Duke drive the ball 64 yards in the third quarter against Alabama, leading to a touchdown by All-American Tom Davis. Duke won 29–26. While football was Lewis's main sport, he also played basketball at Duke in the 1944–1945 season.
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