Fred Lewis (handball)

Fred Lewis (born 1947) is an American former handball player.[1][2]

Fred Lewis
Personal information
NationalityU.S.
Born1947
The Bronx, New York
Sport
SportHandball
Achievements and titles
National finals
  • 6x U.S. Four-Wall Handball Singles Champion (1972, 1974–76, 1978, and 1981)
  • 3x U.S. Three-Wall Handball Singles Champion (1974, 1977, and 1978)

Lewis is Jewish, and was born in The Bronx, New York.[1][3] Both of his parents played handball, and he learned to play the game outdoors in the Bronx.[4][5] He initially played one-wall handball, and entered his first tournament at the age of eight.[5] He competed on his high school swimming team.[5]

He received a master's degree in education at the University of Miami in 1972.[6] He won two U.S. National Collegiate Singles Championships.[1][5]

Lewis is a six-time U.S. Handball Association National Four-Wall Handball Singles Champion (1972, 1974–76, 1978, and 1981).[1][2] He is also a three-time National Three-Wall Singles Champion (1974, 1977, and 1978).[1][7] He was named 1970s "Handball Player of the Decade" by the National Handball Association.[1][8]

He made the finals of the National Open championship 14 consecutive years.[1] He won 16 titles as a professional.[1]

In 1998, he created Yes2Kids, a handball club for children.[6] In 2003, he was head coach of the handball team at the University of Arizona.[2] In 2008, he remarried his ex-wife, as they had reconciled after 16 years.[5]

Halls of Fame

Lewis was inducted into the Handball Hall of Fame in 1993, as its 25th member.[1][2] He was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2011.[1][8]

References

  1. "Fred Lewis". Jewishsports.net. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  2. Christopher Wuensch (December 10, 2003). "Handball legend builds UA program". Arizona Daily Wildcat. Archived from the original on February 20, 2015. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  3. Bob Wechsler (2008). Day by day in Jewish sports history. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. ISBN 9780881259698. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  4. "World Handball Champ Wants More Publicity for his Sport". Lakeland Ledger. July 23, 1978. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  5. "Four walls of fun". Tucsoncitizen.com. January 23, 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  6. Ralph Hickok (May 17, 2010). "History – U.S. Handball Champions". HickokSports.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  7. "Jewish Sports Hall of Fame calls 7". JTA. December 8, 2010. Archived from the original on December 11, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
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