The Matthews family is a prominent family in

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 ...

. One of only five third-generation families to play 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), it is often called the "NFL's First Family". Its seven members who have played in the NFL have combined for 25

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

invitations, 11 first-team

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

selections, and three Super Bowl appearances.

History

The family patriarch, H. L. Matthews, was born in Jeffersonville, Ohio, in 1889. After serving in World War I, he held tenures as a boxing, baseball, and track coach for

The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina The Citadel, The Military College of South Carolina, commonly known simply as The Citadel, is a public senior military college in Charleston, South Carolina. Established in 1842, it is one of six senior military colleges in the United States. ...

from 1926 to 1953. H. L. Matthews' son, Clay Matthews Sr., began the family's legacy in football. After playing football in college for the

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets is the name used for all of the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), located in Atlanta, Georgia. The teams have also been nicknamed the Ramblin' Wrec ...

, he was drafted in the

1949 NFL Draft The 1949 National Football League Draft was held on December 21, 1948, at The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. The draft was preceded by a secret draft meeting held November 15, 1948, at the Hotel Schenley in Pittsburgh. This was the ...

by the Los Angeles Rams, but never played for the team. He instead joined the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National ...

in 1950 and played offensive tackle, defensive tackle, and

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 ...

. His career was interrupted by the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, in which he served as a paratrooper. He rejoined the 49ers in 1953 and played for three more seasons before retiring. Matthews Sr. died on March 24, 2017, aged 88. Two of Matthews Sr.'s sons played in the NFL:

Clay Matthews Jr. William Clay Matthews Jr. (born March 15, 1956) is a former American football linebacker who played for the Cleveland Browns and the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). He was drafted in the first round by the Cleveland Brown ...

and Bruce Matthews. Each played college football for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC), located in Los Angeles, California. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ''Trojans'', the women's athletic teams are referred ...

, and they were both selected in the first round of their respective drafts; Clay Jr. in 1978 and Bruce in 1983. Clay Jr. was a

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

from 1978 to 1993 and Atlanta Falcons from 1994 to 1996. With the Browns, he played in four Pro Bowls and in 1984 was a first-team All-Pro selection. Bruce, a highly versatile offensive lineman, played

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 ...

, tackle,

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentrici ...

, and snapper, for the Houston / Tennessee Oilers / Titans franchise from 1983 to 2001. He was invited to a record-tying 14 Pro Bowls and was a nine-time first-team All-Pro selection. Bruce was inducted into 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 2007. Clay Jr. and Bruce are the only brothers to play on the same Pro Bowl team, doing so for the American Football Conference in both 1988 and 1989. Three sons of Clay Jr. have played football past the high school level: Kyle, Clay III, and Casey. The oldest, Kyle, was a

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

for the USC Trojans. Clay III, a linebacker, also played for the Trojans. Clay III was drafted by Green Bay Packers in 2009, with whom he has earned six Pro Bowl selections, a victory in

Super Bowl XLV Super Bowl XLV was an American football game between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Pittsburgh Steelers and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion ...

, appeared in three NFC Championship Games (most recently of the 2016–17 NFL playoffs where he faced off against his cousin Jake), and is the franchise's all-time sacks leader. Casey Matthews played linebacker for the

Oregon Ducks The Oregon Ducks are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Oregon, located in Eugene. The Ducks compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. ...

, after which he played in the NFL for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

from 2011 to 2014 and

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansi ...

in 2015. Bruce has seven children, including five sons, two of whom have played in the NFL:

Kevin Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant '' Kevan'' is anglicized from , a ...

and

Jake Jake may refer to: Name * Jake (given name), including a list of persons and fictional characters with the name * Katrin Jäke (born c. 1975), German swimmer * Jake (gamer), American ''Overwatch'' player and coach Animals * Jake (rescue dog), a ...

. Kevin was a

for the Titans,

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

, and

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL), as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. ...

from 2010 to 2014. Jake has been an offensive tackle for the Falcons since being drafted by the team sixth overall in 2014. In the NFC championship game of the 2016–17 NFL playoffs, he and the Falcons defeated his cousin Clay III and the Packers to advance to

Super Bowl LI Super Bowl LI was an American football game played at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on February 5, 2017, to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2016 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion New ...

. A third brother, Mike, has spent time on off-season rosters of the

and Pittsburgh Steelers A fourth brother, Luke, is a sophomore for the

Texas A&M Aggies Texas A&M Aggies refers to the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname " Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also referred to as "A&M" or "Texas Agg ...

, where each of his brothers played.

Troy Niklas Troy Niklas (born September 18, 1992) is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Notre Dame. High school Niklas attended Servite ...

, the nephew of Bruce Matthews by way of Bruce's wife's sister, is a former

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Lik ...

for the Arizona Cardinals, and a current free agent. Professional soccer player Ashley Nick is a granddaughter of Clay Matthews Sr.

Matthews family tree

* H. L. "Matty" Matthews (1889–1975) ** Clay Matthews Sr. (1928–2017) ***

(born 1956) ****Kyle Matthews (born 1982) ****

Clay Matthews III William Clay Matthews III (born May 14, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was an outside linebacker in the National Football League (NFL). The six-time Pro Bowl selection and two-time All-Pro played primarily with the ...

(born 1986) **** Casey Matthews (born 1989) *** Bruce Matthews (born 1961) **** Kevin Matthews (born 1987) **** Jake Matthews (born 1992) ****Mike Matthews (born 1994) ****Luke Matthews (born 2000)

In media

In 2017, Clay Jr., Clay III, and Casey were featured in a commercial for

PlayStation Vue PlayStation Vue (PS Vue) was an American streaming television service that was owned by the Sony Interactive Entertainment subdivision of the Sony Corporation of America division of Sony. Launched with a limited major-market rollout on March 18, ...

entitled "Football VUEing Family", which was filmed at Clay Jr.'s home in

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

. Also in the commercial were Clay Jr.'s wife Leslie and daughter Jennifer.

References

{{reflist, 30em Matthews football family National Football League families

History

Matthews family tree

In media

See also

References