Lewis Jack Image 2 Brighton & Hove Albion 1906

Description

Inside forward Jack Lewis was born in Aberystwyth and started his career with Park Mills in 1898 and Kidderminster Harriers in 1898-99, joining Southern League Bristol Rovers in September 1899 scoring 8 goals in 28 appearances, including a hat trick on his F.A. Cup debut for Bristol Rovers against Eastleigh on 28th October 1899, before moving to Portsmouth in May 1900. After one season at Fratton Park, where he scored 5 goals in 11 Southern League appearances, in July 1901 he moved back to the Midlands to join Second Division Burton United, making his Football League debut at Barnsley that September. He scored a hat-trick in a 4-1 win at Gainsborough Trinity that November, ending 1901-02 with 9 goals, and two seasons later he top scored with 13 League goals.

After three seasons which yielded 29 goals in 84 appearances, he returned to the Southern League with Bristol Rovers in August 1904 where he won the Southern League Championship in 1904-05 and was awarded his only cap for Wales in a 1-0 defeat against England at Cardiff on 19th March 1906, becoming the first Bristol Rovers player to win a full international cap. Shortly afterwards, after 25 goals in 60 appearances for The Pirates, he moved back to the south coast to join Brighton & Hove Albion, where he spent one season, scoring 8 times in 32 appearances, before arriving at Southampton in April 1907, his third south coast club.

Although rather small, Lewis was a clever forward but sometimes found his size a handicap against burly opponents. In his one season at The Dell, he formed a useful partnership with Fred Harrison as well as linking up well with fellow forwards, Frank Jefferis and George Smith. He made 25 appearances for The Saints and his 10 goals made him top scorer for the club in the 1907-08 season.

Never able to settle long in one place, he joined Croydon Common in September 1908 scoring 26 goals in only 19 games including 5 in a 10-1 FA Cup home win over Farncombe on 19th September 1908, before returning to Burton United (no longer in the Football League) in August 1909, and he later joined Stafford Rangers in October 1910 before retirement.