Daniel Lewis (11 December 1902 – 1965) was a Welsh
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
goalkeeper
In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...
, who is most notable for his time playing for
Arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
. He kept goal for Arsenal in the
1927 FA Cup Final where a mistake by him saw
Cardiff City win the cup.
Playing career
Born in
Maerdy
Maerdy (, cy, Y Maerdy) is a village and community (and electoral ward) in the county borough of Rhondda Cynon Taf, and within the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan, Wales, lying at the head of the Rhondda Fach Valley.
History
"Maerdy" i ...
,
Glamorgan
, HQ = Cardiff
, Government = Glamorgan County Council (1889–1974)
, Origin=
, Code = GLA
, CodeName = Chapman code
, Replace =
* West Glamorgan
* Mid Glamorgan
* South Glamorgan
, Motto ...
, Lewis first played for local clubs, before moving to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
and joining
Clapton Orient
Leyton Orient Football Club is a professional football club based in Leyton, East London, England, who compete in , the fourth tier of the English football league system. They are the second oldest football club in London to play at a profess ...
. His move to the big time came in 1924 when he joined
First Division Arsenal. He made his debut for the Gunners on 15 November 1924 against
Everton; Arsenal won 3–2 and Lewis remained for the next thirteen games. However, after letting in five in a match at home to
Huddersfield Town
Huddersfield Town Association Football Club is a professional football club based in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England, which compete in the . The team have played home games at the Kirklees Stadium since moving from Leeds Road in 1994. Th ...
on 14 February 1925, Lewis was dropped.
After
Herbert Chapman
Herbert Chapman (19 January 1878 – 6 January 1934) was an English football player and manager. Though he had an undistinguished playing career, he went on to become one of the most influential and successful managers in the early 20th ...
arrived as Arsenal manager in 1925, Lewis shared goalkeeping duties with
Jock Robson and
Bill Harper, but Lewis gradually became the club's No. 1, particularly after Robson and Harper left in 1926 and 1927 respectively. He won his first cap for
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
in a 3–3 draw against
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
on 12 February 1927. In all he won three caps, the last of which was a 6–0 defeat by England at
Stamford Bridge on 20 November 1929.
Lewis was the Arsenal goalkeeper in the
1927 FA Cup Final against
Cardiff City at
Wembley Stadium
Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
; it was the Gunners' first Cup final. In the 74th minute, Cardiff
striker Hughie Ferguson
Hugh Ferguson (2 March 1895 – 8 January 1930) was a Scottish professional footballer. Born in Motherwell, he played for Parkhead at junior level as a semi-professional and was one of the most sought after young players in Scotland before sig ...
hit a tame shot straight at Lewis, who dived down to make what should have been a comfortable save. However, Lewis fumbled the ball as he gathered it, and it slipped between his body and the crook of his elbow; Lewis turned around and tried in vain to reclaim the ball but only succeeded in knocking it with his elbow into the back of the net. Cardiff won the match 1–0, the only time a Welsh club has won the FA Cup. Lewis blamed his brand new
jersey
Jersey ( , ; nrf, Jèrri, label=Jèrriais ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey (french: Bailliage de Jersey, links=no; Jèrriais: ), is an island country and self-governing Crown Dependencies, Crown Dependency near the coast of north-west F ...
for the error, saying the wool was too greasy for him to grip the ball properly; since then, according to club legend, no Arsenal goalkeeper has played in a new jersey before it is washed first.
Lewis continued to play as Arsenal's regular goalkeeper for the next three seasons. However, when they reached Wembley for their second Cup final in 1930, Lewis was injured and had major surgery on a knee. He never fully recovered from this which effectively finished his football career. Arsenal beat Huddersfield 2–0 to claim their first major trophy. Lewis hardly featured at all the following season, particularly after the signings of Bill Harper (for a second spell) and
Gerard Keizer. He was transferred to
Gillingham in May 1931. In all he played 169 matches for Arsenal.
Lewis played only six times for Gillingham and apparently retired from professional football soon after. He died in 1965, at the age of 62.
Honours
Arsenal
*
FA Cup
The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...
runner-up:
1926–27
References
*
External links
BBC Wales on Air - 1927 FA Cup Final with video footage of Lewis's error.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Dan
1902 births
1965 deaths
People from Rhondda
Welsh footballers
Men's association football goalkeepers
Leyton Orient F.C. players
Arsenal F.C. players
Gillingham F.C. players
Wales international footballers
FA Cup final players