Edward Lewis (3 January 1935 – 2 May 2011) was an English

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 lea ...

who played as a

centre-forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...

and later as a full-back. Born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, he played for Goslings before joining the now-famous Manchester United Junior Athletic Club (MUJAC). He made his debut for

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

in 1952, but struggled to nail down a regular place in the starting XI and was sold to

Preston North End Preston North End Football Club, commonly referred to as Preston, North End or PNE, is a professional association football club in Preston, Lancashire, England. They currently play in the EFL Championship, the second level of the English footbal ...

in 1955. A year later, he transferred to

West Ham United West Ham United Football Club is a professional Association football, football club based in Stratford, London, Stratford, East London, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English f ...

, with

Frank O'Farrell Francis O'Farrell (9 October 1927 – 6 March 2022) was an Irish football player and manager. He played as a wing half for Cork United, West Ham United and Preston North End. He made over 300 appearances in the Football League before joining W ...

moving in the opposite direction. In 1958, he was part of the West Ham team that finished on top of the Second Division before joining

Leyton Orient Leyton Orient Football Club, commonly referred to as Orient, is a professional association football club based in Leyton, Waltham Forest, London, England. The team compete in EFL League One, the third level of the English football league system. ...

. At Leyton Orient, Lewis was converted from his former position at centre-forward to become the team's regular left-back, and he was part of the team that was promoted to the

First Division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

in 1962 and relegated just a year later. In May 1964, Lewis joined Folkestone Town, before embarking on a short managerial career with Clapton and Ford Sports. In 1970, Lewis emigrated to South Africa, where he was involved in coaching several sides, including

Wits University The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), commonly known as Wits University or Wits, is a multi-campus public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg, South Africa. The university has its roots in ...

Kaizer Chiefs Kaizer Chiefs Football Club (often known as Chiefs) is a South African professional football club based in Naturena, Johannesburg South, that plays in the Premiership. The team is nicknamed ''AmaKhosi'', which means "Kings" or "Chiefs" in Zu ...

and

Moroka Swallows Moroka Swallows Football Club (often referred to as Swallows or The Birds) is a South African professional football club based in Soweto, Johannesburg, in the Gauteng province. Founded in 1947, Swallows are one of the original two Soweto clubs ...

. He also worked as an analyst for SuperSport. He contracted cancer in his later years and died in May 2011.

Career

Born in

, Lewis was one of the original

Busby Babes The "Busby Babes" were the group of footballers, recruited and trained by Manchester United chief scout Joe Armstrong and assistant manager Jimmy Murphy, who progressed from the club's youth team into the first team under the management of the ...

. He played for Goslings and then for the Manchester United Junior Athletic Club (MUJAC), joining the

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

ground staff in the 1947–48 season. He made 24 appearances for United during the 1950s and scored 11 goals, but was never a regular first-team player due to fierce competition from

Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (11 October 1937 – 21 October 2023) was an English professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder, left winger or centre-forward. Widely considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member ...

Liam Whelan William Augustine Whelan (1 April 1935 – 6 February 1958), known as Billy Whelan or Liam Whelan, was an Irish footballer who played as an inside-forward. He died at the age of 22, as one of eight Manchester United players who were killed in ...

Tommy Taylor Thomas Taylor (29 January 1932 – 6 February 1958) was an English association football, footballer, who played as a Forward (association football), centre-forward and was known for his aerial ability. He was one of the eight Manchester United ...

and

Dennis Viollet Dennis Sydney Viollet (20 September 1933 – 6 March 1999) was an English footballer who played for Manchester United and Stoke City as well as the England national team. He was famous as one of the Busby Babes and survived the Munich air disa ...

. In 1956 Lewis signed for

from

in a swap deal that saw

move in the other direction. He helped West Ham win

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

during the 1957–58 season, and did the same with

in 1961–62. He was converted from centre forward to full back with Leyton Orient, and probably played his best seasons in that position. He went on to play for Folkestone Town and later managed Clapton and Ford Sports in the

Greater London League The Greater London League was a football league for clubs in and around London. It was formed in 1964 by a merger of the London League and the Aetolian League, after the two leagues had run a joint league cup the previous season due to both strug ...

. Lewis emigrated to South Africa in 1970 and – after a short spell selling insurance – he spent time as a part-time coach of Primary School Soccer at Glenhazel Primary school in the 1980s, and

, Giant Blackpool,

, Manning Rangers,

Free State Stars Free State Stars Football club was a South African professional soccer club based in Bethlehem, Free State that played in the National First Division. Formerly known as Makwane Computer Stars, Fairway Stars and Qwa Qwa Stars, their most signi ...

and

AmaZulu Zulu people (; ) are a native people of Southern Africa of the Nguni people, Nguni. The Zulu people are the largest Ethnic groups in South Africa, ethnic group and nation in South Africa, living mainly in the province of KwaZulu-Natal. They o ...

. He also worked as an analyst for the TV sports station SuperSport and also for PA Sports. In July 2007, 72-year-old Lewis was appointed as a technical advisor for

under their new manager Ian Gorowa, a former Zimbabwe international striker. After a long battle with cancer, Lewis died in a

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

hospital on 2 May 2011.

References

* *Kaufman, Neilson N. (2003) ''The Men Who Made Leyton Orient FC''. Tempus Publishing *Kaufman, Neilson N. (2006

990 Year 990 ( CMXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * Al-Mansur, Chancellor and effective ruler of Al-Andalus, conquers the Castle of Montemor-o-Velho (modern Portugal), expanding t ...

. ''The Complete Record of Leyton Orient FC''. Breedon Book Publishing *Kaufman, Neilson N. (2008) ''The Eddie Lewis Story: From Manchester to Soweto''. Derwent Press {{DEFAULTSORT:Lewis, Eddie 1935 births 2011 deaths English men's footballers Footballers from Manchester Manchester United F.C. players Preston North End F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players Leyton Orient F.C. players Folkestone F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Clapton F.C. managers Kaizer Chiefs F.C. managers Wits University F.C. managers Free State Stars F.C. managers Giant Blackpool managers Moroka Swallows F.C. managers Manning Rangers F.C. managers AmaZulu F.C. managers English expatriates in South Africa Deaths from cancer in South Africa Expatriate soccer managers in South Africa Men's association football forwards Men's association football defenders 20th-century English sportsmen