Hall of Fame
CARL LEWIS
CLASS OF 2020
Carl Lewis made a career out of brilliant moments.
A man who took your breath away as he glided down a track, then found another gear just as he crossed the finish line; an athlete whose combination of grace and power left you shaking your head as he launched himself into the air and floated across the sand to another improbable finish.
Lewis patented the impossible. A man whose career spanned more than two decades, four Olympic Games, nine Olympic gold medals, and eight World Championship titles, Lewis was, without question, the best athlete ever to grace a track.
Watch the "Red Carpet" interivew with Carl Lewis and Julia Morales Clark at the 2020 Houston Sports Awards.
At the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, the University of Houston grad equaled Jesse Owens’ 1936 record of four golds in one Games and went on to become one of only three athletes to win the same event in four consecutive Olympics, winning the long jump in 1984, 1988 and 1996. He also won back-to-back 100-meter 1984 and 1988 and was on the winning 4 X 100-meter relay both of those Games as well and went undefeated in the long jump for 10 years.
Carl Lewis with legendary broadcaster Bill Worrell and University of Houston Athletic Director Chris Pezman on the day Carl was informed of his selection to the Houston Sports Hall of Fame.
Lewis was mysterious and enigmatic off the track and unbeatable on it. He was so dominant, in fact, Sports Illustrated named him Athlete of the Century.
An assistant track coach at the University of Houston, Lewis, who grew up in New Jersey, is one of the best-known transplanted Houstonians in the city.
Watch the introduction of Carl Lewis at the 2020 Houston Sports Awards.
“Even the dreams that I had, I exceeded it tenfold,’’ Lewis said of his career. “And to think that I came (to Houston) as an 18-year-old young man very, very shy with big dreams and was able to get into a big city like this, make a difference, become a part of it, and it has become a part of me so much so that people walk up to me all the time in stores and place and say what high school did you go to again?’’
Carl Lewis has been a long time supporter of the Harris County - Houston Sports Authority including the bid to host the 2026 World Cup as seen here during the 2021 FIFA Site Visit.
Carl and his sister Carol Lewis with his plaque on the Walk of Fame in Downtown Houston.
Carl Lewis being fitted by Knot Standard who has been the sole provider of the Houston Sports Hall of Fame jackets since inception.
Carl Lewis, Sheryl Swoopes and Opie Otterstad pose with Univeristy of Houston art students who helped create the mosaic fountain at the Houston Sports Walk of Fame in Downtwon Houston.
(L-R) HCHSA Board Member Lyndon Rose, Carl Lewis, Mayor Sylvester Turner and Bishop James Dixon at the unveiling of the Houston Sports Walk of Fame Fountain.
