Art Lewis Arthur Everett " Pappy " Lewis ( February 9 , 1911 – June 13 , 1962 ) was an American football player and coach . He played college football as a lineman at Ohio University from 1932 to 1935 and then in the National Football League with the New York Giants in 1936 and the Cleveland Rams from 1938 to 1939 . Lewis also served as the interim head coach for the Rams for the last eight games of the 1938 season . He was the head football coach at Washington and Lee University from 1946 to 1948 and at West Virginia University from 1950 to 1959 , compiling a career college football record of 69 – 55 – 2 . At West Virginia , Lewis led the Mountaineers to five Southern Conference titles and an appearance in the 1954 Sugar Bowl . Early life and college career . Born February 18 , 1911 in Pomeroy , Ohio , Lewis was a standout tackle at Middleport High School in Middleport , Ohio . At the age of 21 , he enrolled at Ohio University , where he played tackle from 1932 to 1935 and earned All - American honors his senior year . He capped off his college football career appearing in the 1935 East - West Shrine Game . It was in college that he got his nickname " Pappy " . Professional career . Lewis was drafted by the New York Giants in the first round ( ninth overall ) of the 1936 NFL Draft . After playing one year , Lewis left to coach at Ohio Wesleyan University but left a year later to join the Cleveland Rams as an assistant coach / player . He became the interim head coach mid season . This made him the youngest head coach in NFL history at the age of 27 . He coached the team to a 4 – 4 record and stayed with the team as a player for the 1939 season . Collegiate coaching . After serving in the Navy during World War II , Lewis became the head coach of Washington and Lee University . Here he found his talent as a recruiter but his overall record was 11 – 17 . He had coached one year at Mississippi State University when he was appointed the head coach at West Virginia University . His first couple seasons were rather lackluster but the team turned around during the 1952 season going 7 – 2 and finishing second in conference play . The 1953 season was his greatest season at WVU . The team went 8 – 1 in the regular season , captured the Southern Conference title and started a three - year winning streak against arch - rival Penn State University . The tenth ranked Mountaineers then journeyed to the Sugar Bowl to face eighth ranked Georgia Tech where they lost 42 – 19 . Under Lewis , the Mountaineers continued to dominate the Southern Conference winning the conference title four more times . Much of his success as a coach was credited to his recruiting abilities . He was able to attract such players as Sam Huff , Chuck Howley , Joe Marconi and others . The 1958 and 1959 seasons saw a major drop off and Lewis resigned as head coach . Later life . After leaving West Virginia , Lewis accepted a position with the Pittsburgh Steelers as a talent scout and stayed with them until his death . Lewis died of a heart attack June 13 , 1962 at the age of 51 . He is considered one of the greatest coaches in West Virginia history and was inducted into the West Virginia Sports Hall of Fame in 1966 .