Lewis Elman Jolley (born November 15, 1949) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the North Carolina Tar Heels.^[1][2]

Jolley began his college career at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill as a wingback after not playing football his senior year in high school due to an injury.^[3][4] He was converted to a running back in 1971, his senior year in college.^[3] He capped his college career playing in the December 1971 Gator Bowl, which North Carolina lost to the Georgia Bulldogs by a score of 7-3.^[5]

Jolley was selected by the Oilers in the third round of the 1972 NFL draft with the 56th overall pick.^[6][7] He was cut before the 1972 regular season began, but then joined the Oilers' taxi squad before being activated as a special teams player.^[1][8] He returned 11 kickoffs for 267 yards, or 24.3 yards per return.^[6] In 1973 for Houston he played in 10 of the team's 14 games, rushed 7 times for 6 yards, had 3 receptions for 56 yards, and returned 2 kickoffs for 41 yards.^[6] His last game was also his most active. In a December 2 game against the Oakland Raiders, he rushed 5 times for 1 yard and caught 2 passes for 56 yards.^[9] But he also had a critical fumble that led to the Raiders' victory.^[10]

The Oilers waived Jolley before the 1974 regular season.^[11] After being waived by the Oilers, he signed with the Charlotte Hornets of the World Football League.^[12][13][14] He played for the Hornets in 1974 and 1975.^[15][16] After the Hornets folded, Jolley became a traveling salesman for Worthington Steel, where he was still working as of 1986.^[17][18][19]