Gaston Frederick "Country" Lewis (August 4, 1903 – November 28, 1989) was an American Negro league baseball player and a college football, college basketball, track, and cross country coach. He served as the head football coach at Alabama State University (1929–1933), Wilberforce University (1934, 1938–1946), and Central State University in Wilberforce, Ohio (1947–1956).
Biography A native of Clinton County, Ohio, Lewis grew up on a farm in Caesarscreek Township, Greene County, Ohio, graduated from Wilberforce University, and earned a master's degree at Ohio State University. He played for the Bacharach Giants in 1922 and for the Dayton Marcos in 1926.
Lewis joined the coaching staff at Alabama's Normal School for Colored Students—now known as Alabama State University–as an assistant in 1926, under head coach Bertrand C. Jacobs. In 1935, Lewis was succeeded as head football coach at Wilberforce by Hank Corrothers, but remained as an assistant coach for the team. After the resignation of James McCrary in 1938, Lewis was once again appointed head coach of the team.
Lewis served as the manager of the track and field competition at the 1967 Pan American Games, and was an assistant track and field coach for the 1968 United States Olympic team. Lewis died in Xenia, Ohio in 1989 at age 86.
Head coaching record Football
References
External links and Baseball-Reference Black Baseball Stats and Seamheads