Lynn Otto Matthews (born 1944) is an American former college

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 recognized as an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

. Matthews later became a

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

publishing executive.

Early years

Matthews was born in

Tampa, Florida Tampa ( ) is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. Tampa's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and t ...

. He attended

Chamberlain High School George D. Chamberlain High School is a public high school in Tampa, Florida, United States. It was opened in 1956 on North Boulevard (on the corner of Busch Boulevard). The school is named in honor of George D. Chamberlain, who served for several ...

in Tampa, and he played high school football as Captain for the Chamberlain Chiefs, earning a spot on the All-City, All-Conference, and All-State Football Teams.

All-American college football career

Matthews accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

for coach

Ray Graves Samuel Ray Graves (December 31, 1918 – April 10, 2015) was an American professional football player and college football coach. He was a native of Tennessee and a graduate of the University of Tennessee, where he was the starting center and ...

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American football, American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...

team from

1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cove ...

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

. he initially played both ways, at

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

and defensive end, but played defense exclusively after his sophomore year. He was a three-year

letterman Letterman may refer to: * Letterman (sports), a classification of high school or college athlete in the United States People * David Letterman (born 1947), American television talk show host ** ''Late Night with David Letterman'', talk show that ...

and was the defensive hero for the Gators in a 14–0 win over the

Auburn Tigers The Auburn Tigers are the athletic teams representing Auburn University, a public four-year university located in Auburn, Alabama, United States. The Auburn Tigers compete in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) a ...

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

. He was selected as a second-team

All-Southeastern Conference The All-SEC football team is an annual Southeastern Conference (SEC) honor bestowed on the best players in the conference following every college football season. Seasons

Following is a list of all-conference teams in the history of the SEC: ...

(SEC) selection in 1964 and 1965, and a first-team

in 1965.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 87, 90, 96, 183 (2011). Retrieved August 31, 2011. He was known as a big-play maker and is regarded as one of the finest defensive ends for the Gators, and helped lead the Gators to their first New Year's Day bowl game, the

1966 Sugar Bowl The 1966 Sugar Bowl was the 32nd edition of the college football bowl game, played at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Saturday, January 1. As a part of the 1965–66 bowl game season, it matched the sixth-ranked Missouri Tigers of ...

. Matthews graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree in 1966, and was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great." In 1999, he was chosen as a second-team selection to the University of Florida's All-Century Team, and the Gators' All-Time Team in 1983.

Newspaper publisher

At different times during his career, Matthews served as the

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

of the ''

Ocala Star-Banner The ''Ocala StarBanner'' is the daily newspaper in Ocala, Florida, United States, and serves Marion County and the surrounding communities. The ''Ocala StarBanner'' has a daily circulation of about 43,000, and is the 19th-largest newspaper in t ...

'' (

Ocala, Florida Ocala ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Marion County, Florida, United States. Located in North Central Florida, the city's population was 63,591 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 56,315 at the 2010 census and making ...

), ''

The Ledger ''The Ledger'' is a daily newspaper serving Lakeland, Florida, and the Polk County area. History The paper was founded on August 22, 1924, as the ''Lakeland Evening Ledger''. In 1927, it bought its main competitor, the morning ''Lakeland S ...

'' (

Lakeland, Florida Lakeland is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Located along Interstate 4, I-4 east of Tampa and southwest of Orlando, Florida, Orlando, it is the List of municipalities in Florida, most populous city in Polk County. As of the 2020 ...

), ''

The Press Democrat ''The Press Democrat'', with the largest circulation in California's North Bay, is a daily newspaper published in Santa Rosa, California. History The newspaper was founded in 1897 by Ernest L. Finley, Grant Richards, and Charles O. Dunbar, w ...

'' (

Santa Rosa, California Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city in and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay A ...

) and the ''

Sarasota Herald-Tribune The ''Sarasota Herald-Tribune'' is a daily newspaper, located in Sarasota, Florida, United States, founded in 1925 as the ''Sarasota Herald''. History The newspaper was owned by The New York Times Company from 1982 to 2012. It was then owned by ...

'' (

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in and the county seat of Sarasota County, Florida, United States. It is located in Southwest Florida, the southern end of the Tampa Bay area, and north of Fort Myers, Florida, Fort Myers and Punta Gorda, Florida, Punta Gord ...

). In 1999, he was promoted to be the

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

and

chief operating officer A chief operating officer (COO), also called chief operations officer, is an executive in charge of the daily operations of an organization (i.e. personnel, resources, and logistics). COOs are usually second-in-command immediately after the C ...

of the Times Regional Newspaper Group, then consisting of twenty-one Times newspapers located mostly in the southeastern United States, including the ''Herald-Tribune'' and ''The Ledger''. Matthews retired from the Times Regional Newspaper Group at the end of 2002, after nearly thirty years with the company. Former publisher to head regional newspapers
" ''Times Daily'' , p. 4D (September 29, 200). Retrieved August 10, 2010.

References

Bibliography

*Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . *Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . *Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . *McCarthy, Kevin M.
''Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football''
Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). . *McEwen, Tom, ''The Gators: A Story of Florida Football'', The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). . *Nash, Noel, ed., ''The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football'', Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). . {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Lynn 1944 births Living people All-American college football players American football defensive ends American newspaper executives Florida Gators football players George D. Chamberlain High School alumni Players of American football from Tampa, Florida American chief operating officers

Early years

All-American college football career

Newspaper publisher

See also

References

Bibliography