Grenville Lewis, Jr. (November 12, 1875 – September 27, 1964) was an American engineer, cattle rancher, and

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

coach. He served as the head football coach at Maryland Agricultural College—now known as the

University of Maryland, College Park The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mary ...

—in 1896, compiling a record of 6–2–2.

Biography

Lewis was born on November 12, 1875, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

, where he received a public education,''Alumni Record of the Maryland Agricultural College: 1914
Maryland Agricultural College, p. 54, 1914. including at the Business High School. He attended the Maryland Agricultural College, where he played as a

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

on the football team in 1894 and served as team captain in 1896.All-Time Lettermen
p. 20, ''2007 Terrapin Football Record Book'', University of Maryland, 2007. In his two seasons as a Maryland player, Lewis played every minute of each game.Bealle, p. 28. The school briefly discontinued its football team in 1895, but resurrected it the following year. As team captain in 1896, Lewis instituted the program's first physical training regimen, which included calisthenics and long-distance running. As coach in 1896, Lewis compiled a 6–2–2 record. Lewis also played on the

baseball team Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding te ...

and served as its captain in 1897. He graduated in 1897 with a

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

degree from the school's Scientific Course. In 1897, Lewis intended to commute to College Park from

to assist Maryland captain and player-coach John Lillibridge with his coaching duties. However, the

Columbian University , mottoeng = "God is Our Trust" , established = , type = Private federally chartered research university , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.8 billion (2022) , presid ...

(now George Washington University)

Law School A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

offered Lewis a scholarship and a position as football coach, captain, and fullback, which he accepted. After college, Lewis worked in

cattle ranching A ranch (from es, rancho/Mexican Spanish) is an area of land, including various structures, given primarily to ranching, the practice of raising grazing livestock such as cattle and sheep. It is a subtype of a farm. These terms are most often ...

Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...

until 1900. He then worked for Clark and Krebs Consulting Engineers in

Charleston, West Virginia Charleston is the capital and List of cities in West Virginia, most populous city of West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Elk River (West Virginia), Elk and Kanawha River, Kanawha rivers, the city had a population of 48,864 at the 20 ...

through 1905. In April 1904, he married Lillian Compton née Snowden. Lewis worked as an engineer on the

Virginian Railway The Virginian Railway was a Class I railroad located in Virginia and West Virginia in the United States. The VGN was created to transport high quality "smokeless" bituminous coal from southern West Virginia to port at Hampton Roads. History ...

, a superintendent for the New Etna Coal Company in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States. Located along the Tennessee River bordering Georgia, it also extends into Marion County on its western end. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, ...

, and for the Straight Creek Coal and Coke Company in

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...

until 1908. He was then president and manager of the Ideal Block Coal Company in

Lily, Kentucky Lily is an unincorporated community and coal town in Laurel County, Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. ...

. Lewis lived in

Pineville, Kentucky Pineville () is a home rule-class city in Bell County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 1,732 as of the 2010 census. It is located on a small strip of land between the Cumberland River and Pine Mountain ...

and was a member of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers.''Transactions of the American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, Volume 41''
p. xxxiv, American Institute of Mining, Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers, 1911. In 1916, he was working as a superintendent for the Virginia Iron, Coal and Coke Company.''Annual Report, Virginia Bureau of Labor and Industrial Statistics''
Virginia Department of Labor and Industry, p. 110, 1916. Lewis later lived in

Hollywood, Maryland Hollywood is an unincorporated community located within St. Mary's County, Maryland, United States. It was named in 1867, when a storeowner at Thompson's General Store near the Uniontown section of Hollywood required a name for the post office ins ...

and died in September 1964.First G.W. Grid Coach To Present Award
''The Sun'', November 2, 1960.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Grenville 1875 births 1964 deaths 19th-century players of American football American cattlemen American engineers American football fullbacks Business High School (Washington, D.C.) alumni Player-coaches George Washington Colonials football players George Washington Colonials football coaches Maryland Terrapins baseball players Maryland Terrapins football coaches Maryland Terrapins football players George Washington University Law School alumni People from Bell County, Kentucky People from Hollywood, Maryland Coaches of American football from Washington, D.C. Players of American football from Washington, D.C. American expatriates in Honduras