Bill Mathis (December 10, 1938 – October 20, 2020) was an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player who was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

for the New York Titans/Jets in the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Clemson Tigers The Clemson Tigers are the sport, athletic teams that represent Clemson University, located in Clemson, South Carolina. They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level (NCAA Divis ...

. He also competed on the

Clemson Tigers track and field The Clemson Tigers track and field team is the track and field program that represents Clemson University. The Tigers compete in NCAA Division I as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The team is based in Clemson, South Carolina at the ...

team. He started his professional career with the Titans, and played his entire career with the AFL's New York franchise. One of four Titans who remained with the New York Jets to play in and win a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual History of the NFL championship, league championship game of the National Football League (NFL) of the United States. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966 NFL season, 1966 (with the excep ...

, Mathis led the AFL in carries in

1961 Events January * January 1 – Monetary reform in the Soviet Union, 1961, Monetary reform in the Soviet Union. * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and cons ...

and was selected by his peers to the

Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

1961 AFL All-League team. He was an AFL Eastern Division All-Star in 1961 and 1963. Mathis had a collarbone broken in the third game of 1961, against the

Boston Patriots Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a ...

. He played in the next game, and in fact in all the remaining games of the season. That persistence allowed him to gain a roster spot year after year, and end his career in 1969 after winning

Super Bowl III Super Bowl III was an American football championship game played on January 12, 1969, at the Miami Orange Bowl, Orange Bowl in Miami, Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the fi ...

. He is one of twenty players who were in the AFL for its entire ten-year existence, and seven players who played their entire AFL careers for one franchise. He was inducted into the

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

Hall of Fame,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

Hall of Fame, and the

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Hall of Fame. After retiring from football, Mathis began a career on

Wall Street Wall Street is a street in the Financial District, Manhattan, Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It runs eight city blocks between Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway in the west and South Street (Manhattan), South Str ...

, starting at the firm

Cogan, Berlind, Weill & Levitt Cogan, Berlind, Weill & Levitt, originally Carter, Berlind, Potoma & Weill, was an American investment banking and brokerage firm founded in 1960 and acquired by American Express in 1981. In its two decades as an independent firm, Cogan, Berlind ...

.Can Ex-Athletes Make it on Wall Street
New York Magazine, January 8, 1973

References

External links

Mathis' jersey from his 1961 injury
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathis, Bill 1938 births 2020 deaths American football running backs People from Greenville, Georgia People from Manchester, Georgia Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area Sportspeople from Rocky Mount, North Carolina Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Clemson Tigers football players New York Titans (AFL) players New York Jets players American Football League players American Football League All-Star players American Football League All-League players Track and field athletes from Georgia (U.S. state) Clemson Tigers men's track and field athletes

See also

References

External links