November 11, 2023 | Repost from @RememberGuysPod
- A Faithkeeper or spiritual advisor for the Seneca Turtle Clan, he was born in the Seneca Nation in New York state in 1930
- After serving in the U.S. Army, he received an athletic scholarship to Syracuse University to join the Orange men’s lacrosse team
- He had been recruited to the school by legendary coach Roy Simmons Sr., who noticed both his lacrosse and art skillsets and encouraged him to apply to the nearby university, where in Lyons’s 4 years from ’54-’57 the team went a combined 32-11 with Lyons primarily playing goalie
- ’57 saw the All-American Lyons in his graduating year help lead the Orange to a perfect 10-0 record, their 1st undefeated season in over 3 decades
- One of Lyons’s teammates during this period was future Hall of Fame football player Jim Brown, namesake of PLL’s MVP award
- After graduation Lyons played for a number of local organizations like the New York Lacrosse Club, New Jersey Lacrosse Club, and Onondaga Athletic Club
- During this time he also began a successful commercial art career in NYC with the Norcross Greeting Cards company
- After the ’60s, he would move back to Onondaga; and in 1982, he would combine his ongoing indigenous activism with his love of sport when he helped to found the Iroquois Nationals lacrosse team to compete internationally (now referred to as the Haudenosaunee Nationals)
- He has continued to largely focus on activism and art since then, but he has been inducted into a number of sporting Halls of Fame since the Nationals’ founding, including: the Syracuse University Hall of Fame, the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame, and Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame
