Seventeen-year-old Lewis created a stir in 1914 for Birkenhead Old Boys in the Merseyside Amateur league having scored 101 goals of the club's total of 228, including friendlies, in just one season! Lewis scored 57 goals in 101 wartime marches for Liverpool from 1916-1919 before making his proper first-team debut on the opening day of the 1919/20 season. He scored the first of Liverpool’s goals in a 3-1 victory away to Bradford City, but also missed a penalty. He scored nine times that season, which turned out to be his best for the club. "Lewis is not a big chap, but he is skilful in his purveying of the ball, attends to the needs of his wing-man as a mother to her child, but often asserts his individuality in front of goal," was a contemporary description of his qualities. Over the next two campaigns he made a further 42 first-team appearances, but his knack of getting the odd goal seemed to have deserted him as he only added three goals to his total of nine. The club programme complained in September 1920 that "those left-footed drives which were once a feature of his work seem to have vanished." He did contribute though to Liverpool's Championship win in 1921/22 but missed the 1922/23 League title win due to "illness" and subsequent failure to win his place back. In his absence Harry Chambers and Dick Forshaw had firmly established themselves as inside-forwards and with Jimmy Walsh as the new centre Lewis was allowed to leave for second division Hull in October 1923.