College Football Player. A native of Greenville, Ala, Tommy Lewis played for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1951-1953. He was a captain and fullback of the 1953 Southeastern Conference championship Alabama football team. It was during the 1954 Cotton Bowl that Tommy Lewis made history in one of the most famous plays ever in college football. Tommy scored the first touchdown of the game to put Alabama up 6-0, but is better known for a tackle he made in the second quarter. Alabama trailed a Rice team lead by all-American halfback Dicky Moegle. Moegle had previously scored a touchdown on a 79-yard run when he eluded Alabama’s Bart Starr and was seemingly on his way to score again on a 95-yard touchdown run. With Moegle running down the sidelines in front of the Alabama bench, Lewis jumped onto the field and tackled Moegle at midfield. Having stopped the play, Lewis ran back to the bench as if nothing had happened. Moegle was awarded the touchdown. Lewis explained his actions by saying that he “was just too full of Alabama.” Rice went on to beat Alabama 28-6. The talk of the nation, the two players appeared on Ed Sullivan’s TV variety show on CBS two days later. Lewis went into the Army after college, played in the Canadian Football League and later became a high school football coach and an insurance agent.
College Football Player. A native of Greenville, Ala, Tommy Lewis played for the Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1951-1953. He was a captain and fullback of the 1953 Southeastern Conference championship Alabama football team. It was during the 1954 Cotton Bowl that Tommy Lewis made history in one of the most famous plays ever in college football. Tommy scored the first touchdown of the game to put Alabama up 6-0, but is better known for a tackle he made in the second quarter. Alabama trailed a Rice team lead by all-American halfback Dicky Moegle. Moegle had previously scored a touchdown on a 79-yard run when he eluded Alabama’s Bart Starr and was seemingly on his way to score again on a 95-yard touchdown run. With Moegle running down the sidelines in front of the Alabama bench, Lewis jumped onto the field and tackled Moegle at midfield. Having stopped the play, Lewis ran back to the bench as if nothing had happened. Moegle was awarded the touchdown. Lewis explained his actions by saying that he “was just too full of Alabama.” Rice went on to beat Alabama 28-6. The talk of the nation, the two players appeared on Ed Sullivan’s TV variety show on CBS two days later. Lewis went into the Army after college, played in the Canadian Football League and later became a high school football coach and an insurance agent.
Bio by: L'eau Noire
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