Ned Mathews

Ned Mathews
Mathews, circa 1948
Born:(1918-08-11)August 11, 1918
Provo, Utah, U.S.
Died:September 18, 2002(2002-09-18) (aged 84)
Career information
Position(s)Running back
CollegeUCLA
Career history
As coach
1946Chicago Rockets
1948UCLA
1949–1951Arizona
As player
1941–1943Detroit Lions
1944Hollywood Rangers
1945Boston Yanks
1946Chicago Rockets
1947San Francisco 49ers

Ned Alfred Mathews (August 11, 1918 – September 18, 2002) was a professional American football player who played running back for four seasons in the National Football League for the Detroit Lions and Boston Yanks.[1] With the Lions, he led the league in kickoff returns and ranked second in interceptions thrown.[2] He also played in the American Football League for the Hollywood Rangers, with whom he scored 18 touchdowns on 65 carries.[3][2] Mathews was a college football quarterback at UCLA.

In 1945, Mathews entered the United States Army and coached football, basketball, and baseball for Fort MacArthur. Upon his discharge a year later, he was a player-coach for the Chicago Rockets in the All-America Football Conference before joining the San Francisco 49ers.[2][4] He returned to UCLA as a backfield coach in 1948 and served in the same position at Arizona the following year.[5][2] He coached at Arizona for two years; after the 1951 season, amid turmoil involving incumbent head coach Bob Winslow, Mathews was suggested as his successor by the team's players, but the program instead hired Warren B. Woodson who did not retain Mathews. Mathews remained in Tucson as a businessman.[6][7]

  1. ^ "Ned Mathews Stats".
  2. ^ a b c d "Ex-UCLA Back, Coach Added To Arizona's Football Staff". Arizona Daily Star. February 8, 1949. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Curnow, Jack (November 6, 1944). "Rangers Clip Clippers, 27-6". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Ned Mathews". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved May 5, 2018.
  5. ^ "Former Bruin to Instruct Grid Backs". Los Angeles Times. February 20, 1948. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Players Post 4 Proposals For Wildcats". The Arizona Republic. UP. December 13, 1951. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Woodson Keeps Odil Crowell As Line Coach". The Arizona Republic. February 1, 1952. Retrieved August 18, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.