Montclair Renaissance Man, Sports Legend Honored: Aubrey Lewis

MONTCLAIR, NJ — The Montclair community recently came together to pay tribute to an iconic Montclairite and local sports legend, Aubrey Lewis.

Earlier this month, before the kickoff to the Montclair/Bloomfield high school football game, held a ceremony to dedicate the Aubrey Lewis Sports Complex in honor of the gridiron great, community activist and shrewd businessman, who graduated from Montclair High School in 1954.

Located at 28 Essex Avenue, the new complex includes Fortunato Field, Woodman Field, the Furlong Field House and other structures yet to be constructed in the area, school officials stated.

During a ceremony that included dozens of the late Lewis’ family and friends, local officials recounted the legendary Montclair resident’s accomplishments (see his full biography here):

• In high school, led the way to two state football championships, scoring 49 touchdowns and running for over 4,500 rushing yards
• Led Montclair High to two consecutive team championships in track and field and one state championship in basketball
• First African American to join the Board of Trustees at Notre Dame
• Recruited by the Federal Bureau of Investigation in 1962, becoming one of the first two African Americans to complete training at the Academy in Quantico, Virginia
• Worked for the F.W. Woolworth Corporation (now Foot Locker Inc.) for 37 years as the VP of Corporate Affairs
• Served on boards of Black Retail Action Group (BRAG), Bally Total Fitness Holding Corporation, The United States Naval Academy Foundation, Mountainside Hospital, the New Jersey State Chamber of Commerce and the YMCA of Chinatown NYC
• Advisor to the City of New York Procurement Policy Board, Midlantic Corporation, Midlantic National Bank, Montclair Savings Bank, Independence Savings Bank, Cerebral Palsy of New York and New Jersey and the Black Executive Exchange Program of the National Urban League
• Was a part-time TV sports commentator for WPIX, Channel 11
• Inducted into the New Jersey Sports Hall of Fame
• Served as vice chairman of the New Jersey Highway Authority
• Served as commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
• Served as commissioner of the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority

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Photo courtesy of Lewis family / Montclair Public School District