Lewis Harry Image 3 Hull City 1924

Description

Birkenhead born centre forward Harry Lewis created a stir as a 17 year old in 1914 for Birkenhead Old Boys in the Merseyside Amateur League having scored 101 goals of the club’s total of 228, including friendlies, in just one season! Snapped up by Liverpool in September 1916, Lewis scored 57 goals in 101 wartime marches for Liverpool from 1916 to 1919 before making his Football League debut on the opening day of the 1919-20 season, scoring the first of Liverpool’s goals in a 3-1 victory at Bradford City, but he also missed a penalty. He scored nine times that season, which turned out to be his best for the club.

“Lewis is not a big chap, but he is skilful in his purveying of the ball, attends to the needs of his wing-man as a mother to her child, but often asserts his individuality in front of goal,” was a contemporary description of his qualities. Over the next two campaigns he made a further 42 first team appearances, but his knack of getting the odd goal seemed to have deserted him as he only added three goals to his total of 9. The club programme complained in September 1920 that “those left-footed drives which were once a feature of his work seem to have vanished.” He did contribute though to Liverpool’s League Championship win in 1921-22 but missed the 1922-23 League title win due to “illness” and subsequently failed to win his place back. In his absence Harry Chambers and Dick Forshaw had firmly established themselves as inside forwards and with Jimmy Walsh as the new centre Lewis was allowed to leave for Second Division Hull City in October 1923 after 11 goals in 70 appearances.

At Anlaby Road he spent 1923-24 in the first team, but lost his place early in the new season and joined non league Mold Town in 1925 after scoring 5 goals in 38 appearances for The Tigers, retiring in 1928.