Leo Lewis, a former standout running back for the Lincoln Blue Tigers, has been named as one of 20 finalists for the Black College Football Hall of Fame. The finalists were announced Wednesday.
The owner of four of Lincoln's top six single-season rushing records, Lewis carried the ball 523 times during his four-year collegiate career, gaining 4,457 yards and scoring 64 touchdowns.
Lewis played for Lincoln from 1951-54, rushing for more than 1,100 yards three times and finished his career with a scoring total of 384 points. He set a program record with 22 touchdowns during his junior season, and scored four touchdowns in a game on four occasions in his career.
When Lewis played, Lincoln posted four straight winning seasons, including 8-0-1 records during both the 1952 and 1953 seasons. Lewis rushed for 1,239 yards in 1952 and 1,230 yards in 1953. Those marks are the second- and third-most in a single season in program history.
Lewis joined Lemar Parrish as the only two Lincoln football players to have their jerseys retired, as Lewis' No. 30 uniform was retired in 2000. Lewis was inducted into the Lincoln Athletic Hall of Fame in 2008.
Lewis and his fellow finalists were chosen from a field of 170 nominees by a 13-panel selection committee. The 2016 inductees, including five players and one coach, will be announced Oct. 26 and will be enshrined Feb. 25, 2017, in Atlanta.
"The number of players that historically black colleges and universities sent to the NFL is amazing," NFL player personnel expert Gil Brandt, a member of the selection committee, said. "Football history runs deep at these schools, and it's an important part of history to recognize and preserve."
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