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Remembering Reggie
By Clarence (Tiger) Davis
Pearl
Harbor Day, December 7th, has always inspired a sense of
patriotism but for the past few years it has taken on a greater
significance. It's the anniversary of the birth of an old friend
who is no longer physically with us but will remain in our
hearts and minds forever.
Reginald
Francis Lewis was born three months after me on December 7,
1942. We became friends in the summer of 1957 at Clifton Park,
the site of Dunbar High School football practice.
I
and a few other sophomores, Billy Tinkler, Leon Stewart, Elmer
Sewell, and James Mann decided to stay on junior varsity another
year rather than move to varsity and "ride the pine."
We would, in our minds, be the nucleus of a strong junior
varsity. We would be the big boys on JV or so we thought.
The
first week of practice is arduous calisthenics, running and more
running, drills and more drills, as one by one the pretenders
would quietly drift away. Wind sprints up "The Hill"
would then separate the men from the boys and what remained
would be our team. At the end of the first week, we're issued
"pads" and practice uniforms and the next week we get
physical. It was on that Monday that I noticed this quiet
unassuming rookie, with his head tilted downward, looking up
with a certain self‑assurance which seemed kind of
mysterious. The freshmen had a camaraderie which we, sophomores,
hadn't paid much attention to until it came time for "The
Pit."
Now,
for those unfamiliar with football back in those days, the pit
was where we blocked one on one, man to man where you earned
respect or you faced a little brotherly derision and ribbing in
the locker room and shower. We, sophomores, couldn't wait to
show these freshmen "who's boss." Calvin Lambson, the
head JV Coach, called for two lines and I noticed that all the
freshmen got into the same line which meant they would go head
to head with us sophomores. They changed places in the line
according to which sophomore they would be lined up against.
This rangy, six foot two, two hundred and ten pounder, lined up
and appeared to count down to assure he would behead to head
with me. I was five ten and a hundred and eighty pounds, with a
reputation.
No
Big Deal
When
our turn came, he lined up with a perfect three pronged stance.
"Pretty good for a rookie." I went with the four
pronged stance and gave him the impression I would "crab
block." Saliva poured from the corner of his mouth as he
wiped away the excess secretion. "Dag," I said to
myself, "he's licking his chops." As coach prepared to
give the signal for engagement, I stood up. "What's the
matter," coach yelled, "you been here before ‑
lets go." I could see something was in the making as this
scrappy freshman gritted his teeth and growled. My pride was
being challenged and I knew I had been set up. My emotions built
to a point of frenzy and no sooner than coach yelled
"hut," I was into this freshman's chest, legs fiercely
churning, driving and I wouldn't let up. I could hear yells and
groans from our teammates as it was scorched earth in "The
Pit, "on this day. Coach enjoyed the confrontation as it
would set standards of true grit for the other players.
I
won the battle that day against Earl "Mad Dog" Divers
who several years later played for the Atlanta Falcons. Later
on, I realized that this freshman quarterback was orchestrating
the activities and practice habits of the freshmen. After
practice, "Mad Dog" and Reggie came over to me and
began to compliment my power and skills. They referred to me as
the "Bengal Tiger," after a movie which was showing at
the local theater. I was amazed at the courtesy extended me by
these rookies and somewhat befuddled.
Apparently,
they had been organized and practicing for a week before
scheduled practice but more than that they had intelligence data
on each of us sophomores. Each of them had a role to play in
establishing their presence and each had been designated a
position to pursue. Gerald "Stick em" Broadway and Red
Scott was to be guards and anchor the line with "Mad
Dog," and James "The Prince" Prince would lead
the back field. All would become prime time players led by
Reginald Francis Lewis who brought something special to
athletics at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School.
From
the outset, Reggie wanted to challenge the varsity to a
scrimmage. "Are you nuts," I said. "The bigger
they come, the harder they fall,” he replied. "Our
fundamentals are better than theirs," he shouted, "We
can beat them."
As
the season progressed, we had to absorb taunts and deal with the
indignities of the big boys on varsity as they threw dirty soap
on us, in the shower, after washing various parts of their
bodies. Finally, I said to Reggie, "Lets take `em on."
Coach Lambson reluctantly, but with pride, gave in to our
request and spoke to Coach William "Sugar" Cain about
a scrimmage.
Coach
Sugar Cain, knowing that we were no physical match for the
varsity, started his second string against us. Midway through
the scrimmage, as we vigorously and successfully pursued our
revenge, he began inserting his first string, one by one, to
shore up weaknesses, then he threw the first string defense at
us. They were relentless in their pursuit of the quarterback,
man handling our smaller line. Reggie was elusive but they got
to him and he got to us in the huddle. "What's the
matter," he yelled, "you're blocking like little
girls."
We
then ran a trap, quarterback sneak up the middle. Mad Dog had
the trap assignment and laid this fiercely charging lineman flat
on his backside and Reggie headed for open spaces. As Reggie ran
down the field, he had an escort of two lineman and two ends,
trailed by six other joyful teammates. In fact, the entire
junior varsity team ran down the field to the amazement of Coach
Cain, who then called off the scrimmage to chastise his
"big boys." We had outplayed the varsity with our
thinking, preparedness, and fundamentals, which became the
hallmark of Dunbar football for the next two years as we faced
one challenge after another.
We
gained respect in the field house and no more dirty soap was
thrown on us. The sophomores and juniors, on varsity, sought our
friendship as they knew we would be teammates the following
year.
Integration
of the black schools into the Maryland Scholastic Association (MSA)
was moving rapidly. Football was the last hurdle and some of us
were not too eager to engage the big white schools such as Poly,
Patterson and City, which had large male student populations to
draw from while we were relegated to a hand full of male
students. In fact, Robert Royster, who would make first team All
Conference at tackle, had to work and couldn't make all the
practices.
On
top of all that, our first opponent in the MSA was none other
than the mean engineers from North Avenue. Poly, in those days
was awesome Ron Klages, Ed Stuckgrath and a rolling ball
by the name of Winder at guard. These boys were seasoned and
ready. Sugar Cain was angry at being scheduled to face Poly
right off the bat, but he made the most of it exclaiming from
the first day of practice, "they didn't want you in the
league, so they're feeding you to the lions." Being fine
young Christians, we got the message the first time but Coach
reiterated it from time to time to motivate the seniors who were
lackadaisical.
The
former JV players needed no motivation. We were ready to
challenge for every position on varsity. Encouraged and led by
Reggie, we had practiced all summer. Reggie, Tinkler, Leon,
Elmer, Gerald and I would become first string by the second game
of the season. Mad Dog, MacArthur Cheeks, James Mann, The Prince
and Boonie Royster, Robert's little brother, put pressure on
their counterparts to include our three All Conference players,
namely Robert Royster and Carl Hite our tackles, and Willie
Joyner, our full back, three of the greatest football players to
ever wear the maroon and gold. Another one of our seniors,
George "Jake The Rattlesnake" Benjamin should have
been All Conference end, but this was only our first year in the
league and there was no way four Dunbar players would corner
that many first team picks, not in 1958 Baltimore.
Getting
Back to Summer Practice
Deep
down, none of us had faith that we could beat Poly. After all,
the News American had us as four touchdown underdogs. Never the
less, we worked hard so as to not embarrass our community and
school. Reggie insisted that we could beat their socks off if we
believed and prepared. "Those white boys are slow and big
headed. We can beat them, we are better than them." Those
of us, who knew Reggie from JV, knew he was dead serious and
even though, at the time, he was not the starting quarterback,
his presence was strong and to be reckoned with by even the
seniors who lacked a sense of mission. Reggie volunteered to
play safety on defense. This got him into the game. Granville
Collins, the starting center, couldn't snap the ball on fourth
down punts, this got me into the game.
Hank
Richmond, a great 880 man in track, was injured and Tinkler took
over. Leon began to spell The Rattlesnake and The Prince came in
for Willie at full back, running the ball with great power,
rooting "lets go Prince" breaking one tackle after
another for short gains. The other former JV players were
substituted for the more seasoned players, keeping them fresh.
By now, the seasoned varsity veterans were rooting for their
younger replacements. The spirit and commitment to team which
Reggie brought to the JV had transcended the mind set of the
seasoned varsity players. Final score: Dunbar 12, Poly 8.
Reginald
Francis Lewis was special. On this, the 58th Anniversary of his
birth, most will remember his one billion dollar leverage buy
out of Beatrice International, one of the top five food
companies in the world. For those of us who knew Reggie, up
close and personal, we thank God for his presence in our lives.
His determination and commitment to excellence, his desire for
achievement, and sense of mission will never be forgotten.
"HAPPY
BIRTHDAY REGGIE."
Written on
December 7, 2000
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updated 3 November 2007 |
