Leo Lewis

Leo Lewis is one of the most popular Winnipeg Blue Bombers of all time, and played his entire CFL career with the Blue and Gold from 1955 to 1966.  Lewis played his college ball at Lincoln University in Missouri and was dubbed the Lincoln Locomotive.  Lewis joined a Bomber team in the 1950s that was enjoying one of its franchise peaks and had an immediate impact running for 834 yards in his rookie season with a 6.1 yards per carry average and earning a Western All-Star spot.  Lewis had off season surgery after the 1955 season and played only one exibition game in 1956, missing the entire regular season.  Lewis rejoined the Bombers in 1957 and added another 5 Western All-Star nomnations (58, 60, 61, 62 and 64) to his resume and an All-Canadian selection in 1962, the first year for All-Canadian selections.  Lewis held the Bomber rushing record (8,891 yards) for 41 years from his retirement in 1966 until it was broken by Charles Roberts in 2007. For all his accomplishments, Lewis surprisingly never led the West in rushing, at least partially because the Bombers for many of those years had a strong 1-2 running punch with Lewis and fullback Gary James. Lewis did rack up two 1000+ yard seasons (1958 and 1961) and had a superb average yards per carry for his career (6.6).  Lewis averaged over six yards per carry with his best season being an 8.4 yard average in 1960 when he ran for 923 yards on only 106 carries. Lewis was also a dangersous pass receiver and kick returner.  His best year receiving came in 1962 when he caught 30 passes for 661 yards and a excellent 22.0 yard average.  Throughout his career, Lewis maintained nearly a 30 yard average on kick returns.  Another area that Lewis excelled in was passing.  Playing in an era where the running back often had an option to throw the ball, Lewis threw for 14 career touchdowns, including 4 in one season (1960). In a pinch, the Bombers even turned to Lewis for placekicking duties.  Leo Lewis was more than deserving of his Canadian Hall-Of-Fame induction in 1973.

Leo Lewis passed away on August 30, 2013.

Last Night for Leo Lewis - August 31, 1966

Former Winnipeg Blue Bomber Running Back Leo Lewis Dies

GP, Passing, Rushing and Receiving
Year Team GP PA PC % Yds TD Int Sacked Yds TC Yds Avg TD Rec Yds Avg Long TD Long PTS
1955 WPG
9 4 44.4 102 2 0 0 0 135 834 6.1 5 11 345 31.3 59 1 59 30
1956 WPG
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1957 WPG
3 2 66.7 60 0 0 0 0 119 817 6.8 5 13 261 20 54 3 54 48
1958 WPG
13 10 76.9 217 2 0 0 0 167 1164 7 8 31 679 21.9 68 3 68 66
1959 WPG
17 7 41.1 109 2 2 0 0 112 730 6.5 2 43 695 16.1 50 7 50 54
1960 WPG
8 6 75 133 4 0 0 0 106 923 8.4 5 18 374 20.7 78 1 78 36
1961 WPG
7 4 57.1 98 1 1 0 0 146 1036 7.1 8 13 206 15.8 19 0 19 49
1962 WPG
4 2 50 71 1 0 0 0 134 865 6.4 4 30 661 22 66 6 66 66
1963 WPG
6 4 66.7 58 0 1 0 0 133 691 5.2 3 27 390 14.4 40 2 40 30
1964 WPG 15 6 3 50 56 1 0 0 0 114 845 7.4 3 26 314 12 55 3 55 41
1965 WPG 16 7 3 42.8 15 1 3 0 0 154 828 5.3 5 18 267 14.8 52 0 52 30
1966 WPG 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 128 4.1 0 4 59 14.7 28 0 28 0

Official games played stats were not kept in the West until 1964.



Kickoff Returns
Year Team KOR Yds Avg TD Long
1955 WPG 0 0 0 0 0
1956 WPG 0 0 0 0 0
1957 WPG 26 854 32.8 0 76
1958 WPG 20 639 31.9 0 68
1959 WPG 15 397 26.4 0 65
1960 WPG 16 417 26 0 82
1961 WPG 19 495 26 0 42
1962 WPG 20 573 28.6 1 91
1963 WPG 29 796 27.4 0 50
1964 WPG 24 768 32 0 84
1965 WPG 17 474 27.8 0 52
1966 WPG 1 30 30 0 30

 

Fumbles
Year Team F FL
1955 WPG 8
1956 WPG 0
1957 WPG 0
1958 WPG 4
1959 WPG 5
1960 WPG 3
1961 WPG 3
1962 WPG 2
1963 WPG 3
1964 WPG 4
1965 WPG 4
1966 WPG 0

 

Fumble Recoveries
Year Team FR Yds Avg TD Long OFR FF
1955 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0
1956 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0
1957 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0
1958 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0
1959 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0
1960 WPG 1 0 0 0 0 0
1961 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0
1962 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0
1963 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0
1964 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0
1965 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0
1966 WPG 2 0 0 0 0 0

 

Kicking and Points
Year Team ConvA ConvG % Att Good FG% Long S MFG YdsMFG Avg PTS
1955 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30
1956 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
1957 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 48
1958 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 66
1959 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 54
1960 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 36
1961 WPG 2 1 50 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 49
1962 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 66
1963 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30
1964 WPG 5 4 80 2 0 0 0 0 2 95 42.5 41
1965 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 30
1966 WPG 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0