Derek Lewis

Derek Lewis
Personnel
Surname	Derek Ivor Edwin Lewis
birthday	June 10, 1929
place of birth	Edmonton , London ,  England
date of death	July 13, 1953
Place of death	St Albans ,  England
position	Half-forward (right)
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
	Erith & Belvedere
1949-1950	Bury Town
1950-1952	Gillingham FC	48 (31)
1952-1953	Preston North End	37 (14)
1 Only league games are given.

Derek Ivor Edwin Lewis (born June 10, 1929 in Edmonton , London , † July 13, 1953 in St Albans ) was an English football player . The attacker scored 45 goals in 85 league games in the Football League for Preston North End and Gillingham FC in the early 1950s before he died of a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 24 .

Career

Lewis grew up near White Hart Lane and was a fan of Tottenham Hotspur , his father died in World War II . In the adult sector, Lewis played for Erith & Belvedere , was registered as an amateur with Fulham FC and was successful as a center forward in the Eastern Counties Football League for Bury Town with 21 goals in 35 competitive games in the 1949/50 season . Shortly after his discharge from military service, Lewis was hired in the summer of 1950 for a transfer fee of £ 10 from the south-east English third division Gillingham FC , who had been re-elected to the Football League in 1950 after a 12-year absence, and made headlines early on. On his first missions still called up as a center forward , he scored a hat trick in a 4-1 win in September 1950 on his second appearance in the Third Division South against FC Walsall . In January 1951, now called up as a half- forward, he put another hat-trick in a 9-4 win over Exeter City . From March 1951 Lewis finally established himself in the team and met the following season 1951/52 thanks to his acceleration speed and precise finishes almost at will and thus also drew the attention of higher-class clubs. In addition, in November 1951 there was an appointment to a selection of the Football Association against the British Army , in the game played in London's Highbury , Lewis, who was the only third division player in the association selection, scored the opening goal in a 4-2 victory.

After a total of 22 goals in 28 league appearances in the season 1951/52 to Gillingham agreed in February 1952 the first division side Preston North End on a transfer fee of £ 13,000, but this was the 13 and because of the importance unlucky number decreased by one pound to £ 12,999; for Gillingham the transfer was record proceeds. Just a few days later he made his first division debut in a 1-1 draw against Manchester City , and by the end of the season he had two hits in eight appearances. After he had already been a candidate for the B international match against the Netherlands in March 1952, Lewis was appointed to the English B national team at the end of April 1952, but he had to play against a French selection after a European tour from Preston North End sustained injury and was replaced by his teammate Bobby Foster .

In the 1952/53 season Lewis scored 12 goals in 29 league appearances in the storm series Tom Finney - Derek Lewis - Charlie Wayman - Jimmy Baxter - Angus Morrison . At the end of the season, the team was in second place in the table and only missed the championship due to the poorer goal quotient against Arsenal . Lewis missed the last day of the match and the subsequent European tour due to a mumps disease. On July 6, 1953, Lewis collapsed at his home in Edmonton due to a cerebral hemorrhage and was initially admitted to North Middlesex Hospital , later in the week he was transferred to the more neurologically specialized Hill End Hospital in St Albans . Lewis died there on July 13, 1953. The funeral was attended by a delegation from Preston North End with coach Scot Symon and the players Tommy Docherty , Willie Cunningham and Bobby Foster and a large part of the Gillingham squad; he was buried in Highgate Cemetery .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ barryhugmansfootballers.com: Profile Derek Lewis , accessed June 25, 2020
2. ↑ OUT TO BEAT HIS OLD HEROES . In: Daily Mirror , January 30, 1953, p. 15.  (paid link)
3. ^ Mick Blakeman: The Official History of the Eastern Counties Football League 1935-2010 . Volume II. Propagator Press, Leeds 2010, ISBN 978-1-908037-02-2 .
4. ↑ ^{a b c} Roger Triggs: The Men Who Made Gillingham Football Club . Tempus Publishing Ltd., Stroud 2001, ISBN 0-7524-2243-X , pp. 195 .
5. ^ Gillingham discovery . In: Sports Argus , September 23, 1950, p. 4.  (link subject to charge)
6. ↑ PALACE ON THE WEMBLEY TREK . In: Norwood News , November 23, 1951, p. 2.  (paid link)
7. ^ A second half hat-trick gave side victory . In: Daily Mirror , November 8, 1951, p. 10.  (link with costs)
8. ^ Andy Bradley, Roger Triggs: Home of the Shouting Men: Complete History of Gillingham Football Club 1893-1993 . Gillingham Football Club, Gillingham 1994, ISBN 978-0-9523361-0-5 , pp. 145 .
9. ↑ In Miller's place . In: Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer , February 18, 1952, p. 3.  (paid link)
10. ↑ Six Midlanders to play on the Continent . In: Sports Argus , April 26, 1952, p. 4.  (link subject to charge)
11. ↑ HONOR FOR DEREK LEWIS . In: East Kent Gazette , May 2, 1952, p. 6.  (paid link)
12. ^ Two England changes . In: Yorkshire Post and Leeds Intelligencer , May 14, 1952, p. 3.  (paid link)
13. ↑ Mike Payne, Ian Rigby: Loud & Proud Preston: The Complete Story of the Lilywhites . Palatine Books, Lancaster 2005, ISBN 978-1-874181-31-6 , pp. 150 ff .
14. ↑ TRIBUTE TO LEWIS . In: Lancashire Evening Post , July 18, 1953, p. 5.  (paid link)
15. ↑ FOOTBALLER IN HOSPITAL . In: Yorkshire Evening Post , July 11, 1953, p. 5.  (paid link)
16. ↑ LEWIS GOES TO BRAIN HOSPITAL . In: Lancashire Evening Post , July 10, 1953, p. 1.  (paid link)
17. ↑ DEREK LEWIS DEAD . In: Liverpool Echo , July 13, 1953, p. 1.  (link with costs)
18. ^ ^{A b} North End Players at Funeral of Derek Lewis . In: Lancashire Evening Post , July 20, 1953, p. 1.  (paid link)