Rufus Lewis

For the American civil rights activist, see Rufus Lewis (activist).

Rufus Lewis (December 13, 1919 – December 17, 1999) was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball, as well as in Cuban, Mexican and Venezuelan professional leagues affiliated to organized baseball.^[1][2][3][4]

Rufus Lewis
Pitcher
Born: (1919-12-13)December 13, 1919 Hattiesburg, Mississippi
Died: December 17, 1999(1999-12-17) (aged 80) Southfield, Michigan
Batted: Right Threw: Right
debut
1936, for the Pittsburgh Crawfords
Last appearance
1952, for the Dorados de Chihuahua
Teams
Pittsburgh Crawfords (1936–1938) Newark Eagles (1946–1948) Navegantes del Magallanes (1946–47 [winter]) Habana BBC (1947–48 [winter]) Diablos Rojos del México (1950–1951; 1952) Azules de Veracruz (1951) Dorados de Chihuahua (1952)
Career highlights and awards
All-Star (1948) Negro League World Series champion (1946)

Lewis pitched in three games for the Eagles in the 1946 Negro World Series, pitching in relief in Game 1 for teammate Hilton Smith before getting starts in Game 4 and Game 7; Lewis went 2-1, including wins in both starts as Newark won their only championship; Lewis pitched a complete game while allowing eight hits with two runs while walking four and striking out eight batters.^[5][6]

A native of Hattiesburg, Mississippi, Lewis served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II.^[7] He died in Southfield, Michigan in 1999 at age 80.