Dennis Lewis (21 April 1925 – November 1996) was a Welsh

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who played for

Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nicknamed ...

for twelve years, racking up 442 appearances in

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

(474 over all competitions). Until May 2008 he was the club's record appearance holder, Kevin Hill overcoming his tally.

Playing career

Lewis signed professional forms with Swansea Town in August 1946, but failed to make it onto the pitch for the club and so moved on to

twelve months later. He scored on his league debut, a 2–0 home win over

Aldershot Aldershot () is a town in Hampshire, England. It lies on heathland in the extreme northeast corner of the county, southwest of London. The area is administered by Rushmoor Borough Council. The town has a population of 37,131, while the Alders ...

. He soon became an indispensable member of the first eleven, and was an ever-present for two consecutive seasons, one of which was the 1954-55 season which saw ''the Gulls'' record an historic triumph over Leeds United in the

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 ...

. Between 19 November 1952 and 19 April 1957 he made a club record 207 consecutive league appearances. In June 1959 he became a member of the back-room staff at

Plainmoor Plainmoor is an association football stadium located in the Plainmoor suburb of Torquay, Devon, England. Since 1921, the stadium has been the home of Torquay United Football Club, who currently compete in the National League, the fifth tier of E ...

. After leaving the game completely he worked as a billiard table fitter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Dennis 1925 births 1996 deaths Welsh footballers Association football midfielders Swansea City A.F.C. players Torquay United F.C. players English Football League players