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By JOE SMEKENS
The winningest basketball coach in the history of Wells County has been inducted into his college’s athletic hall of fame.
Honored in special ceremonies Saturday night at the University of Indianapolis was Jerry Lewis, former head basketball coach at Norwell High School.
Lewis was among five alumni of the University of Indianapolis, and its predecessor, Indiana Central University, who were honored by the Greyhound Club at halftime of the U of I game against Missouri-St. Louis Saturday.
Lewis was the head basketball coach at Norwell for a period of 20 years, coming to Wells County in 1969 and coaching Knight teams until the conclusion of the 1988-89 season. Now retired, he and his wife, Shari, reside in Fort Wayne.
He had 18 winning seasons as the Norwell coach, winning sectional championships in 1972, 1973, 1975, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983 and 1988. His teams in 1973 and 1988 also won regional titles at Marion, with the ‘88 team also advancing to the finals of the Fort Wayne semi-state tournament.
His career won-loss mark at Norwell totaled 304 victories against 155 losses, putting him more than 100 victories ahead of any other Wells County varsity basketball coach.
Lewis-coached Norwell teams also won 11 regular season Allen County Athletic Conference (ACAC) championships and five ACAC tournaments.
In leading Norwell teams to 304 victories, over those 20 years, a Knight team never lost more than four games in a row during any season.
A native of Greencastle, Lewis graduated from Reelsville High School in 1958 and from Indiana Central in 1972.
At Indiana Central he scored over 1,000 points and set the season free-throw percentage record in 1958-59 by shooting 93.8 percent, which also was a national mark. He also set the Indiana Central career record with an 84.6 free throw percentage. He also played baseball at Indiana Central and was the team captain and most valuable player in 1962.
Prior to coming to Norwell, Lewis coached at North Miami in Cass County. His career coaching record at both schools was 354 wins and 216 losses over 25 years, with nine sectional titles.
At Norwell, in addition to his coaching duties, Lewis taught government and U.S. history.
Lewis and his wife are the parents of three children, Michael “Mick” Lewis of the Cincinnati area, Mrs. Andy (Laura) Crane of Denver, Colo., and Mrs. Matt (Dr. Kris) Hanzel of Rochester, Minn. They also have five grandchildren.
Others inducted Saturday night with Lewis were Elmer ‘Buss” Linville, Class of 1936; Tom Hathaway, Class of 1954; Tandace Joseph, Class of 1984, and Steve Montgomery, Class of 1976.
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