1948 BAA Champion | BAA Head Coach | Converse All Stars Shoe Innovator
Grady Lewis was born on March 25, 1917, in Boyd, Texas. As a 6’7 forward and center, he played college basketball for the Southwestern Oklahoma State Bulldogs and the Oklahoma Sooners.
Lewis played four seasons with the Phillips 66 Oilers of the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU), and 3 seasons in the Basketball Association of America for the Detroit Falcons, St. Louis Bombers, and Baltimore Bullets. He averaged 5 points per game in his career and won a league championship with Baltimore in 1948. Lewis also was a member of two AAU national championship teams with Phillips 66 in 1940, 1946.
After playing, Lewis coached the BAA’s St. Louis Bombers for 2 seasons, succeeding his former head coach, while still playing for the team, making him one of the early player-coaches in BAA/NBA history.
Lewis was inducted into the Southwestern Oklahoma State Hall of Fame in 1970.
Coach Lewis passed away on March 11, 2009, at the age of 91.
- Overall Coaching Record: 55-73
Coaching Career
Grady Lewis became the head coach of the St. Louis Bombers, succeeding his former head coach Ken Loeffler. Lewis still played for the team while coaching. In his first season, the team finished with a 29–31 record, reaching the playoffs, but were eliminated in 2 games against Les Harrison and the Rochester Royals.
The following season, the team finished with a 26–42 record and the team folded after the season.
Notable Players Coached
- Ed Macauley
- Future 1958 NBA champion
- Future 7× NBA All-Star (1951–1957)
- Future 1951 NBA All-Star Game MVP
- Future 3× All-NBA First Team (1951–1953)
- Future 1954 All-NBA Second Team
- No. 22 retired by Boston Celtics
- Red Rocha
- Future 1955 NBA champion
- Future 2× NBA All-Star
- Johnny Logan (3× All-BAA Second Team (1947–1949)