William Lewis was involved in English

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 Association Football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 in various capacities in the early 20th century. He was first a referee, then a director and later manager of Brentford

Brentford F.C.

Brentford Football Club are a professional English football club based in Brentford in the London Borough of Hounslow. They are currently playing in Football League One....

 between 1900 and 1903. He became the first club secretary

Secretary

A secretary, or administrative assistant, is a person whose work consists of supporting management, including executives, using a variety of project management, communication & organizational skills. These functions may be entirely carried out to assist one other employee or may be for the benefit...

 of Chelsea Football Club

Chelsea F.C.

Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...

 when it was founded in 1905

1905-06 in English football

The 1905–06 season was the 35th season of competitive football in England.-Events:Following the increase in size of the Football League from 36 clubs to 40, and with Doncaster Rovers having been relegated from the Second Division, four new clubs were elected into the league, along with Stockport...

, with his contacts helping the club gain election to the Football League

The Football League

The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...

 the same year. With the resignation of John Robertson on 27 November 1906, he became caretaker secretary-manager of the club. Lewis led the side to its first promotion, in 1907, as Second Division

Football League Second Division

From 1892 until 1992, the Football League Second Division was the second highest division overall in English football.This ended with the creation of the FA Premier League, prior to the start of the 1992–93 season, which caused an administrative split between The Football League and the teams...

 runners-up to Nottingham Forest

Nottingham Forest F.C.

Nottingham Forest Football Club is an English Association Football club based in West Bridgford, Nottingham, that plays in the Football League Championship...

. He left the job shortly afterwards and was replaced by David Calderhead

David Calderhead

David Calderhead was a Scottish footballer who later became a manager, notably of Chelsea.-Playing career:...

.