| Date of birth: | June 14, 1939 |
| Place of birth: | Pittsburgh, PA |
| Career information | |
|---|---|
| Position(s): | RB |
| College: | Ohio State |
| NFL Draft: | 1961 / Round: 1 / Pick 7 |
| Organizations | |
| As player: | |
| 1961-1972 | Baltimore Colts |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| Pro Bowls: | 1968, 1969 |
| Playing stats at DatabaseFootball.com | |
Thomas Roland Matte (born June 14, 1939, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) was an American football player who played quarterback in college and primarily running back in the NFL in the 1960s and 1970s and earned a Super Bowl Ring.[1] He attended Shaw High School in East Cleveland and is an Eagle Scout[citation needed]. Matte was an All-American back at Ohio State University.
| TEAMS | AWARDS | MEDIA | BOOKS | STATS | TRADING CARDS | IMAGES |
Playing career[]
Matte's 12-year pro career was spent with the Baltimore Colts where he posted career stats of 4,646 rushing yards, 249 receptions for 2,869 yards, 1,367 yards returning kickoffs, and 57 touchdowns (45 rushing, 12 receiving). Late in the 1965 season, Matte also memorably filled in as an emergency quarterback when Colts QBs Johnny Unitas and Gary Cuozzo went down with season-ending injuries in consecutive home losses to the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, respectively. For the Colts' regular-season finale (a 20-17 win) against the Los Angeles Rams and the following weekend's one-game playoff at Green Bay (a 13-10 overtime loss resulting from a missed Packer field goal that was erroneously ruled good), Colts head coach Don Shula put a list of plays on a wristband that Matte wore. The wristband is now on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Later in his career, Matte was immortalized on the cover of Sports Illustrated, scoring his third touchdown of the afternoon in the NFL Championship Game against the Cleveland Browns, January 5, 1969.[2]
Matte was selected for two Pro Bowls and played in two Super Bowls, earning a ring at Super Bowl V where the Colts beat the Dallas Cowboys. In Super Bowl III, he rushed for 116 yards and caught 2 passes for 30 yards. He still holds the record for highest per-carry rushing average in a Super Bowl game: 10.5 (116 yards in only 11 carries in 1969 versus the New York Jets).
Broadcasting career[]
Matte briefly was a color analyst on CBS coverage of football games. From 1996-2005, Matte teamed with Baltimore sportscaster Scott Garceau in broadcasting Baltimore Ravens games on local radio. He also pursues local business interests and is in demand as a celebrity endorser.
References[]
- ↑ "Tom Matte Is Healthy For Bid To Super Bowl .". The Morning Record. 24 December 1971. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uqhIAAAAIBAJ&sjid=FQENAAAAIBAJ&pg=1135,7648113. Retrieved 15 January 2011.
- ↑ "Most Popular". CNN. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/cover/featured/8108/index.htm.
| Preceded by Jim Houston |
Ohio State Buckeyes Football Season MVP 1960 |
Succeeded by Bob Ferguson |
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| This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at Tom Matte. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with American Football Database, the text of Wikipedia is available under the GNU Free Documentation License. |