Elvin Lamont Bethea (born March 1, 1946) is a former
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
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 formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...
who played his entire career with the
Houston Oilers
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...
. He played for
North Carolina A&T State University
North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public, historically black land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Caro ...
and was the first person from that school to be elected to the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
, having been inducted in 2003.
Career
![1986 Jeno's Pizza - 44 - Elvin Bethea and Carter Hartwig](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/72/1986_Jeno%27s_Pizza_-_44_-_Elvin_Bethea_and_Carter_Hartwig.jpg)
Bethea was born in
Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the county seat of Mercer County. It was the capital of the United States from November 1 to December 24, 1784.[high school football
High school football (french: football au lycée) is gridiron football played by high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both countries, but its popularity is declining, part ...]
and track at
Trenton Central High School
Trenton Central High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Trenton, in Mercer County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Trenton Public Schools.
As ...
. He set the New Jersey state record in the shot put in 1964 – 66 feet 4.5 inches - which stood until 1997. He won the shot put and discus competitions at the Golden West Invitational track meet in 1964.
During his career in Houston, Bethea played in 210 games, including a stretch of 135 consecutive. He played at defensive end and guard in the
1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – " Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Janu ...
season and didn't miss a game until breaking his arm in a game against the
Oakland Raiders in
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
. He led the team in
sacks six times, finishing his career with 105 unofficial sacks.
His career high was in
1973
Events January
* January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union.
* January 15 – Vietnam War: ...
with 16 sacks, which still ranks as the best in Oilers/
Tennessee Titans
The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division, and play their hom ...
history, a feat made more remarkable by the Oilers' 1-13 record. In
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 ...
Bethea recorded sacks, yet was not voted to the Pro Bowl. In a game against the
San Diego Chargers in
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 ...
, he recorded four sacks (his career high) and had one fumble recovery.
He also had sacks in
1969
This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon.
Events January
* January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco.
* January 5
**Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
. Other notable seasons in terms of sacks were:
1970
Events
January
* January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC.
* January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...
and
1971 with sacks in each,
1975
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe.
Events
January
* January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
with 10 and
1978 with 8. He played in the
AFC Championship game in
1978 and
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
.
Awards and honors
Bethea was Second-team All-Pro in 1969, 1973, 1978 and 1979 to go with his 8 Pro Bowl selections.
Bethea was elected to the
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...
in 2003. He was officially inducted during the Enshrinement Ceremony on August 3, 2003, where his college coach and presenter, Hornsby Howell, unveiled the bust of Bethea, which was sculpted by
Scott Myers.
In 2005, Bethea was inducted to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame
Book
Bethea is the author of ''Smash-Mouth: My Football Journey from Trenton to Canton''.
References
External links
Member profile– Pro Football Hall of Fame
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bethea, Elvin
1946 births
Living people
Players of American football from Trenton, New Jersey
Trenton Central High School alumni
American football defensive ends
North Carolina A&T Aggies football players
Houston Oilers players
American Conference Pro Bowl players
American Football League All-Star players
Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
American Football League players
National Football League players with retired numbers