Recognized for his efforts, he was offered a tryout with the New York Giants, but manager Bill Terry decided against keeping Lewis on the team.

A recommendation by a Legion World Series viewer led him to Joe Engel, who owned the Class A Chattanooga Lookouts, the Washington Senators' farm club at the time.

Lewis began his major league career on September 16, 1935 by pinch hitting for pitcher Bump Hadley in the bottom of the 5th inning, where in his one batting appearance against Sad Sam Jones, he popped out before being replaced by Jack Russell.

In the 139 games he appeared as a third baseman, Lewis logged in 1,214 innings, garnering a .933 fielding percentage with 152 putouts, 297 assists, 32 errors, and 24 double plays.

He logged in 1,382 innings at third base, having a .938 fielding percentage while committing 146 putouts, 293 assists, 29 errors, and 32 double plays, all ranking in the top four for the league.

Lewis and Mike Kreevich are the only starters from that game that did not end up inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

He played in 134 games on third base for 1,180 innings, making 122 putouts, 326 assists and 32 errors for a .933 fielding percentage, with the latter three categories rating in the top five for the league.

On June 4, 1941, he logged in his 1,000th career hit, singling off St. Louis Browns pitcher Fritz Ostermueller in the top of the 5th inning.

Before his 26th birthday, Lewis had accumulated 1,112 hits, the 10th highest total for a 25-year-old player in MLB history, having more than Orlando Cepeda (1,105), Rogers Hornsby (1,073) and Mickey Mantle (1,080), all of whom were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

[5][6] During World War II, Lewis served in the United States Army Air Forces as a transport pilot.

He flew more than 500 missions in the China Burma India Theater and received the Distinguished Flying Cross before returning to the Major Leagues in 1945.

He batted third as the starting right fielder on Opening Day for the Senators, with Lewis going 0-for-3 with a HBP, a walk and a RBI on a sacrifice fly as Washington beat the Philadelphia Athletics 3-2.

After retiring, he took focus on his businesses such as a bowling alley and a Ford dealership, along with being area commissioner for American Legion at one point, sponsor and coach of the Gastonia Post 23 team.

He was elected to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame and had an American Legion baseball field named after him in Gastonia.

Along with Cecil Travis, he was cited by Bill James as a player who lost their shot at the Hall of Fame due to their wartime service.