Grenville Lewis

American football player and coach

Grenville Lewis Jr. (November 12, 1875 – September 27, 1964) was an American college football player and coach, an early professional football player, and an engineer and cattle rancher. He served as the head football coach at Maryland Agricultural College—now known as the University of Maryland, College Park—in 1896, compiling a record of 6–2–2.

Lewis was born on November 12, 1875, in Washington, D. C., where he received a public education, including at the Business High School. He attended the Maryland Agricultural College, where he played as a fullback on the football team in 1894 and served as team captain in 1896. In his two seasons as a Maryland player, Lewis played every minute of each game. 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 and served as its captain in 1897. He graduated in 1897 with a Bachelor of Science degree from the school's Scientific Course. In 1897, Lewis intended to commute to College Park from Washington, D. C. to assist Maryland captain and player coach John Lillibridge with his coaching duties. However, the Columbian University (now George Washington University) Law School offered Lewis a scholarship and a position as football coach, captain, and fullback, which he accepted.

Lewis played professional football with Dave Berry's Latrobe team in 1898. At the end of that season, he was selected to the Western Pennsylvania All Star football team as a last minute replacement at fullback. He led the All Stars in yardage in the team's 16–0 loss to the Duquesne Country and Athletic Club, a contest that may have been the first pro football all star game.

After college, outside of football, Lewis worked in cattle ranching in Honduras until 1900. He then worked for Clark and Krebs Consulting Engineers in Charleston, West Virginia through 1905. Lewis worked as an engineer on the Virginian Railway, a superintendent for the New Etna Coal Company in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and for the Straight Creek Coal and Coke Company in Kentucky until 1908. He was then president and manager of the Ideal Block Coal Company in Lily, Kentucky. In 1916, he was working as a superintendent for the Virginia Iron, Coal and Coke Company. Lewis later lived in Hollywood, Maryland and died in September 1964.