Bill Lewis (2001) - Hall of Fame - Shippensburg University Athletics

Hall of Fame

Bill Lewis

Class

1962
Induction

2001
Sport(s)

Football, Men's Track and Field

Bill Lewis of Neptune, New Jersey, Class of 1962, was a standout football player and track champion for Shippensburg. He lettered four years in both sports.

Lewis came to Shippensburg in the fall of 1958 from Fair Haven, New Jersey where he was a standout athlete at Rumson-Fair Haven Regional High School. He continued his success in college.

In football Lewis was an All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) performer. His best two seasons were his junior and senior years in 1960 and 1961 when he led the Red Raiders in rushing and scoring both seasons. His junior year he carried the ball 61 times for 492 yards and five touchdowns. He averaged 8.1 yards per carry that season. The following year he had 103 carries for 664 yards and nine touchdowns with an average of 6.4 yards per carry. For his career Lewis rushed 210 times for 1,497 yards an an average of 7.1 yards per carry.

During his career Lewis had three games in which he gained 150 or more yards. His biggest output was against Kutztown in 1960 when he gained 169 yards on 16 carries. He also rushed for 159 yards on 15 carries against Clarion in 1961 and 155 yards on 18 carries against Mansfield later that same season.

In track and field Lewis was a two-time PSAC champon, wining the high hurdles titles in 1960 and 1961. In 1959, his freshman season, he was fourth in the 100 yard dash. The following year he failed to place at the conference championships but in 1961 he won the 120 yard high hurdles in 15.2. He also was second in the 220 low hurdles, third in the 100 yard dash and fourth in the pole vault.

In 1962 Lewis repeated as champion in the high hurdles. he finished with a time of 15.1. He also placed third in the 220 low hurdles and was third in the pole vault.

After graduation Lewis taught in the Harrisburg schools from 1962 to 1967 and then taught science in the Shore Regional High School District in New Jersey from 1967 to 1989. He also served as a football and track and field coach. Among his many accomplishments as a teacher at Shore Regional was his establishment of a Students Against Drunk Driving (SADD) chapter. As president of the Monmouth County Education Association he served on the Monmouth County Task Force Against Drunk Driving.

Lewis retired from teaching in 1989 and went to work for the New Jersey Education Association as Associate Director of Government Relations. He was appointed by New Jersey’s Attorney General to serve on the School Zone Narcotics Enforcement Working Group and the Attorney General’s Education and Law Enforcement Working Group. The New Jersey Department of Education appointed him to serve on three entities--the Violence and Vandalism Prevention Task Force; the New Jersey Middle School Peer Leadership Initiative, a substance abuse prevention network; and the New Jersey Geographic Alliance Board.

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