Ned Alfred Mathews (August 11, 1918 – September 18, 2002) was a professional American football player who played running back for four seasons in the National Football League for the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

and Boston Yanks. With the Lions, he led the league in kickoff returns and ranked second in interceptions thrown. He also played 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, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

for the Hollywood Rangers, with whom he scored 18 touchdowns on 65 carries. Mathews was a

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 ...

quarterback at UCLA. In 1945, Mathews entered the United States Army and coached football, basketball, and baseball for Fort MacArthur. Upon his discharge a year later, he was a player-coach for the

Chicago Rockets The Chicago Rockets were an American football team that played in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) from 1946 to 1949. During the 1949 season, the team was known as the Chicago Hornets. Unlike the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, an ...

in the

All-America Football Conference The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...

before joining the San Francisco 49ers. He returned to UCLA as a backfield coach in 1948 and served in the same position at Arizona the following year. He coached at Arizona for two years; after the 1951 season, amid turmoil involving incumbent head coach Bob Winslow, Mathews was suggested as his successor by the team's players, but the program instead hired

Warren B. Woodson Warren Brooks Woodson (February 24, 1903 – February 22, 1998) was an American football, basketball, and baseball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at Arkansas State Teachers College, now the Universi ...

who did not retain Mathews. Mathews remained in Tucson as a businessman.

References

1918 births 2002 deaths American football running backs Detroit Lions players Boston Yanks players UCLA Bruins football players Chicago Rockets players San Francisco 49ers (AAFC) players Sportspeople from Provo, Utah Players of American football from Utah County, Utah Chicago Rockets coaches UCLA Bruins football coaches Arizona Wildcats football coaches United States Army personnel of World War II San Francisco 49ers players {{runningback-1910s-stub