Matthew Jerome Suhey (born July 7, 1958) is an American former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

player who was a fullback for ten seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL) for the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

. He won a

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

as a member of the 1985 Bears while scoring a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

in the game and was named to the Pennsylvania Football All-Century Team. Before his NFL career, Suhey played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Penn State #Redirect Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campu ...

from 1976-1979, rushing for 2,818 yards and 26 touchdowns, while also catching 39 passes for 328 yards and 2 scores, along with 21 punt returns for 252 yards and another touchdown. Suhey was the lead blocker and friend of

Walter Payton Walter Jerry Payton (July 25, 1953Although most sources at the time of his death gave Payton's birth year as 1954, reliable sources subsequently state he was born in 1953. – November 1, 1999) was an American football running back who played ...

. He is also a close friend of the Payton family, and the executor of the Payton estate since the death of Walter. Although Suhey was never a leader in any statistical category, he was a fan favorite for his personality and blocking ability. Matt Suhey is one of three sons of

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive attraction devoted to college football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players and coaches of college football that were vote ...

guard Guard or guards may refer to: Professional occupations * Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault * Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street * Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning * Prison ...

Steve Suhey Steven Joseph Suhey (January 8, 1922 – January 8, 1977) was a former professional American football player, playing Guard (American football), guard for two seasons in the National Football League for the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was an All-Amer ...

to letter at Penn State University and a grandson of Hall of Fame Penn State player and coach Bob Higgins. His son, Joe Suhey, was a fullback at Penn State from 2007–2011. The Higgins–Suhey family is often referred to as the "first family of Penn State football" due to their affiliation with the program spanning four generations.

References

1958 births Living people People from State College, Pennsylvania American football fullbacks Players of American football from Pennsylvania Penn State Nittany Lions football players Chicago Bears players {{runningback-1950s-stub