Tom Lewis '61 was named Forester Athlete of the Week on Thursday for averaging 23 points and nine rebounds per contest during three road games early in his senior season.
Lake Forest posted a narrow 56-55 victory at the University of Chicago on Saturday, December 10, 1960. Lewis, a center, and senior forward Phil Sokody shared team-high honors with 16 points apiece and both players added 8 boards.
The Foresters were back on the road on Tuesday when Lewis racked up a game-high 33 points in a 73-60 triumph at North Park University. He accounted for 22 of the visitors' 42 points in the first half, which ended with Lake Forest leading by six. Lewis finished the night 11-for-21 from the field and 11-for-15 from the free throw line while pulling down 10 rebounds.
Lewis tacked on 20 points and 9 rebounds three days later in a 77-70 overtime loss at Carroll College that left the Foresters with a 5-2 record going into the holiday break.
Lake Forest finished the 1960-61 season with an overall record of 16-10 and a College Conference of Illinois mark of 6-4. The victory total matched the highest mark in program history, a record that continued to stand for another 17 years.
A unanimous choice by league coaches, Lewis was named First Team All-CCI for the third year in a row after a second team selection his freshman year. Sokody joined him among the conference's top six players for the second straight season and the duo shared the team's Most Valuable Player award, giving Lewis four such honors in his career. Over the course of his career Lewis was also a two-time N.A.I.A. All-District 20 selection and a Little All-American.
Already the program's career leader in points and rebounds after just three seasons at the College, Lewis broke his own school record with 515 points in 1960-61. He also grabbed 318 rebounds, a total unmatched during the 60 years since his graduation. Lewis remains the program's all-time leader with 1,370 career rebounds and his 1,814 points rank second in team annals.
In addition to his exploits on the basketball court, Lewis also excelled in football and track and field during his collegiate career. Lake Forest's career leader in yards per punt (41.2) ranked second in the nation in that category as a sophomore with a 45.4-yard average and earned First Team All-CCI honors at defensive back as a junior and tight end as a senior. Lewis captured five CCI titles in track and field, two each in the javelin and long jump and one in the high jump, and owns school records in the high jump, long jump, and shot put while ranking third in team history in the discus and javelin.
After graduating from the College, Lewis was drafted by the Chicago Majors pro basketball team and the Detroit Lions pro football team. He also tried out for the Houston Oilers and the St. Louis Cardinals football teams, but ultimately ended up playing basketball at the semi-pro level for the Rockford Majors. Lewis was part of Lake Forest College's inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame class of 1974.
Tom Lewis Hall of Fame Bio | Forester Men's Basketball History | Forester Football History | Forester Track History
Since all Lake Forest College sporting events during the fall semester have been postponed, the Athletic Department is utilizing its archives to continue the weekly recognition of high-level performances by Foresters. The department has selected a Forester Athlete of the Week since 1996, so the honorees for the rest of 2020 will have earned the distinction at least 25 years ago.
A note of gratitude goes out to Mike Dau '58, whose tireless efforts as the department's historian has made this fall's Forester Athlete of the Week research possible.
