Jess Lewis (born July 28, 1947 in

Aumsville, Oregon Aumsville is a city in Marion County, Oregon, Marion County, Oregon, United States. The population was 3,584 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. It is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area. History Aumsville is on the site o ...

) is a retired

amateur wrestler Amateur wrestling is a variant of wrestling practiced in collegiate, school, or other amateur level competitions. There are two international wrestling styles performed in the Olympic Games: freestyle and Greco-Roman. Both styles are under the ...

and

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 as ...

in 1970. He graduated from

Cascade High School Cascade is a name for several high schools in North America, including: * Cascade High School (Idaho), Cascade, Idaho *Cascade High School (Clayton, Indiana) * Cascade High School (Iowa), Cascade, Iowa * Cascade High School (Montana), Cascade, Mo ...

Turner, Oregon Turner is a city in Marion County, Oregon, United States. The population was 1,854 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Salem Metropolitan Statistical Area. The community was incorporated by the Oregon Legislative Assembly on February 10, 1905. ...

College Wrestling

Lewis was an accomplished wrestler for

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

, becoming a three-time conference champion (1968–1970), three-time All-American (1968–1970), and a two-time

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

champion (1969, 1970) in the heavyweight division. He went on to compete in the 1968

World University Games The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and "Olympiad". The Universiade is referred t ...

and the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport eve ...

as a wrestler for the United States.

College football

Lewis also played college football at

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...

where he earned All-American honors as a football player in 1967, and was a two-time All-Pac-8 Conference selection as a

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that will typically line up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the offensive guards, however he may also line up opposite one of the tackles. Defensive tackles are typically the la ...

. He was selected as the team MVP in 1969.

NFL Football

Upon graduating from Oregon State, Lewis was drafted in the 13th round of the

1970 NFL Draft The 1970 National Football League Draft was the 35th National Football League Draft and the first of the league's modern era, following the merger of the National Football League with the American Football League. It was held on January 27–28, 1 ...

by the

. The Oilers moved him to linebacker upon drafting him. Lewis played one season in the NFL.

References

1947 births American football defensive tackles American football linebackers Wrestlers at the 1968 Summer Olympics American male sport wrestlers Houston Oilers players Living people Olympic wrestlers of the United States Oregon State Beavers football players Oregon State Beavers wrestlers People from Marion County, Oregon Wrestlers from Oregon Players of American football from Oregon Olympic wrestlers of the National Football League {{linebacker-1940s-stub