John Lewis

John Lewis, a coachbuilder and strong advocate of the temperance movement, moved to Blackburn from Shropshire at the age of 13. He was one of the founders of the Blackburn Rovers Football Club in 1875, and played for them in their early years, until a skating accident just before the 1882 FA Cup Final against Old Etonians put him out of the side, and ended his playing career. Lewis turned to holding various administrative posts with the Lancashire FA, the Football Association, and the Football League. He took touring FA teams to the United States and Australia in the 1920s. Lewis was also a leading referee, and is one of a few men to have refereed three FA Cup Finals (1895, 1897-98). He also officiated in the 1908 and 1920 Olympic finals, at the age of 65, the latter being the controversial affair between Belgium and Czechoslovakia, which saw the eastern European side walk off the field in protest. During World War I, Lewis acted as a special constable.