Born in 1945 in Knoxville and the youngest of 14 children, Lewis was named Dwight Douglas after two great generals in World War II (Dwight Eisenhower and Douglas MacArthur).

His long football career began in Knoxville, where he played for Fulton High School and was a Tennessee All-State Linebacker in 1963.

Lewis elected to attend Mississippi State University where he was named All-SEC (1966 and 1967); SEC Defensive Player of the Year (1967); and All-American (1967). For his accomplishments while at the University, Lewis was inducted into the nation's College Football Hall of Fame in 2001.

Lewis entered the professional football ranks in 1968 to play for the Dallas Cowboys. He wore #50 for 14 years and was voted the "Most Popular Player" by the Cowboys fans and given the Bart Starr Meritorious Award in 1981

To this day, Lewis holds the Dallas Cowboys playoff record with 27 games. During his NFL career, Lewis played in 12 NFC Divisional Contests, one NFC Wild Card Contest and nine NFC Championship Games. He made five Super Bowl appearances while winning
two World Championship victories in 1972 and 1978.

Tom Landry named D. D. as starting weakside linebacker in 1973, a position he held for nine years until retirement after the '81 season. Lewis continues to make his home in Texas.