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Fred Lewis (handball)

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Fred Lewis
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
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)

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

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 United States 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

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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

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Fred Lewis". Jewishsports.net. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  2. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b c d e "Fred Lewis Interview - the Handball Message Board".
  6. ^ a b "Four walls of fun". Tucsoncitizen.com. January 23, 2007. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  7. ^ Ralph Hickok (May 17, 2010). "History – U.S. Handball Champions". HickokSports.com. Archived from the original on January 25, 2013. Retrieved October 21, 2011.
  8. ^ a b "Jewish Sports Hall of Fame calls 7". JTA. December 8, 2010. Archived from the original on December 11, 2010. Retrieved October 21, 2011.