Fred Lewis (basketball, born 1921)

Fred Lewis
Lewis in 1948
Personal information
Born(1921-01-06)January 6, 1921
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
DiedDecember 27, 1994(1994-12-27) (aged 73)
Sacramento, California, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Listed weight195 lb (88 kg)
Career information
High schoolJames Madison
(Brooklyn, New York)
College
Playing career1945–1952
PositionForward / guard
Number20, 5, 11
Coaching career1947–1985
Career history
Playing
1946–1948Sheboygan Red Skins
1947Birmingham Skyhawks
1947–1948Sheboygan Red Skins
1948Indianapolis Kautskys
1948Indianapolis Jets
1948–1949Baltimore Bullets
1949–1950Philadelphia Warriors
1950Hartford Hurricanes
1950–1951Meriden
1951–1952Washington Capitols
Coaching
1947Birmingham Skyhawks
1950–1953Amityville HS (NY)
1953–1956Hawaii (assistant)
1956–1957Southern Illinois (assistant)
1957–1962Southern Miss
1962–1968Syracuse
1984–1985Sacramento State
Career highlights
Stats at NBA.com 
Stats at Basketball Reference 

Frederick Bott Lewis Jr. (January 6, 1921 – December 27, 1994) was an American professional basketball player and coach who was the head basketball coach at Syracuse University from 1962 to 1968.

Playing

College

Lewis played college basketball at LIU Brooklyn.[1] After serving in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, he resumed his career at Eastern Kentucky. He led Eastern Kentucky to an appearance in the 1945 NAIA basketball tournament and was named the toruney's most valuable player.[2] He was the NAIA's fifth leading scorer during the 1945–1946 season and led Eastern Kentucky to another tournament appearance.[3]

Professional

In 1946, Lewis signed a three-year contract to play for the Sheboygan Red Skins of the National Basketball League.[4] He left the team in 1947 to become the player-coach of the Birmingham team in the Professional Basketball League of America.[5] The league folded on November 13, 1947 and Lewis rejoined the Red Skins on December 4.[6] On February 12, 1948, his contract was sold to the Indianapolis Kautskys.[7]

Indianapolis moved to the Basketball Association of America in 1948. On November 19, 1948, Lewis and Hal Tidrick were traded to the Baltimore Bullets for John Mahnken. Lewis averaged 11.4 points over 53 games for the Bullets that year.[8] During the 1949 offseason, Lewis' right hand was wounded by a .22 caliber bullet in a hunting accident.[9] He played 18 games for the Bullets in 1949, but averaged only 3.5 points.[8] He was released by the club and signed by the Philadelphia Warriors that December.[10] He played 16 games for the Warriors and averaged 3.4 points per game.[8] He finished the season with the Hartford Hurricanes of the American Basketball League.

Lewis played for the Meriden club in the Eastern Basketball League during the 1950–51 season and the Washington Capitols of the American Basketball League during the 1951–52 season.[11]

Coaching

From 1950 to 1953, Lewis coached at Amityville High School, where he compiled a 63–40 record. He then served as an assistant coach at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (1953–1956) and Southern Illinois (1956–1957). From 1957 to 1962, Lewis coached at University of Southern Mississippi, where he compiled an 89–38 record.[1]

Lewis was the head basketball coach at Syracuse University from 1962 to 1968. He compiled a 91-57 (.615) record during his tenure. He took his team to the National Invitation Tournament two years after the team finished the season with a record of 2-22. One of his teams almost became the first team in NCAA history to average 100 or more points per game. Lewis's 1965–66 team, led by Dave Bing, participated in the NCAA Tournament and won against Davidson College in the first round before Syracuse lost to Duke University.

Lewis left Syracuse in 1968 to become the athletic director at California State University, Sacramento.[12] On December 1, 1969, Lewis and physical education department chairman Merle Rousey were fired after athletic department faculty members protested their policies.[13] He remained at the school as a professor and served as the school's interim men's basketball coach during the 1984-85 season.[14] He died in Sacramento, California on December 27, 1994.[15]

BAA/NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played  FG%  Field-goal percentage
 FT%  Free-throw percentage  APG  Assists per game
 PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP FG% FT% APG PPG
1948–49 Indianapolis 8.270.7082.49.9
1948–49 Baltimore 53.335.7711.711.4
1949–50 Baltimore 18.227.6841.03.5
1949–50 Philadelphia 16.284.923.43.4
Career 95.312.7651.48.4

Playoffs

Year Team GP FG% FT% APG PPG
1949 Baltimore 3.429.7001.012.3
Career 3.429.7001.012.3

References

  1. 1 2 "Miss. Southern Coach Named To Syracuse". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. March 7, 1962. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  2. ↑ "Ex-Marine Stars In Cage Tourney". Berkeley Daily Gazette. March 13, 1945. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  3. ↑ "Kurland Captures High Scoring Basketball Title". Prescott Evening Courier. March 27, 1946. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  4. ↑ "Redskins Sign Lewis". Youngstown Vindicator. May 23, 1946. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  5. ↑ "High Scourt Scorer Coaches B'ham Five". The Tuscaloosa News. October 7, 1947. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  6. ↑ "National Cage Loop Reinstates Players". Youngstown Vindicator. December 4, 1947. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  7. ↑ "Kautskys Buy Lewis". Youngstown Vindicator. February 12, 1948. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 "Freddie Lewis". Basketball Reference. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Cager Wounded". St. Petersburg Times. August 10, 1949. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  10. ↑ Gill, Bo (December 31, 1949). "Stray Boots". The Newburgh News. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  11. ↑ Corkin Jr., Frank R. (November 6, 1950). "Frankly Speaking". The Meriden Daily Journal. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Named Syracuse Coach". St. Joseph Gazette. May 22, 1968. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Sacramento fires three from staff". The Bulletin. December 2, 1969. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Brown To Coach Sacramento State". Toledo Blade. February 14, 1985. Retrieved May 4, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Lewis, ex-Syracuse coach, dead". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. December 31, 1994. Archived from the original on March 7, 2016. Retrieved January 16, 2012.
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