Hall of Athletic Honor
Gettysburg football was the dominant power in the early years of the Centennial Conference, and the man who was literally at the center of that success was Bob Lewis.
A three-year starter at center for the offensive line, Lewis paved the way for a pair of All-American running backs and a high-powered Gettysburg offense. The Bullets averaged more than 260 rushing yards per game over his three years as a starter and finished among the national top-10 in rushing in both 1984 and 1985. In 1985, the team piled up 3,171 rushing yards which remains the season record nearly four decades later.
Lewis was named All-CC Second Team in his first year as a starter and garnered first-team honors in both 1984 and 1985. Gettysburg featured a 1,000-yard rusher in each of those three campaigns and eclipsed over 4,000 yards of total offense in 1985 when Lewis also garnered All-ECAC First Team accolades. Head Coach Barry Streeter called Lewis the “best one-on-one blocker I ever coached.”
After claiming the conference title in both 1983 and 1984, Gettysburg reset the records books with one of the best seasons in program history in 1985. With Lewis dominating action at the line, the Bullets went unbeaten (9-0-1) during the regular season, won the Centennial title for the third year in a row, and marched all the way to the national semifinals, marking the best national finish ever by a team from the Centennial Conference.
A native of Kinnelon, N.J., Lewis graduated from Gettysburg with a degree in business administration.
