Bob Matheson - Misplaced Pages

American football player and coach (1944–1994) This article is about the National Football League player. For other people, see Robert Matheson (disambiguation).

American football player

Bob Matheson

No. 56, 53

Position:

Linebacker

Personal information

Born:

(1944-11-25)November 25, 1944
Boone, North Carolina, U.S.

Died:

September 5, 1994(1994-09-05) (aged 49)
Durham, North Carolina, U.S.

Height:

6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)

Weight:

235 lb (107 kg)

Career information

High school:

Appalachian
(Boone, North Carolina)

College:

Duke

NFL draft:

1967 / round: 1 / pick: 18

Career history

As a player:

Cleveland Browns (1967–1970)
Miami Dolphins (1971–1979)

As a coach:

Duke (1981–1982) (LB)
Miami Dolphins (1983–1987) (LB/ST)
Minnesota (1988–1991) (assistant)

Career highlights and awards

2× Super Bowl champion (VII, VIII)
First-team All-American (1966)
2× First-team All-ACC (1965, 1966)

Career NFL statistics

Interceptions:	12
Interception yards:	152
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Robert Matheson (November 25, 1944 – September 5, 1994) was an American football linebacker who played 13 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played in three Super Bowls for the Miami Dolphins, including their 1972 and 1973 championships.

A linebacker at Duke University, he was drafted in 1967 by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the NFL Draft, was the first year of the common draft between the AFL and NFL. He was then acquired by the Dolphins prior to the 1971 season, after Miami defensive coordinator Bill Arnsparger requested head coach Don Shula to do so. Miami gave up their second round draft pick in 1972 in exchange. Matheson went to Miami one year after the Dolphins acquired Paul Warfield from Cleveland.

Matheson was often used by the Dolphins as a fourth linebacker in passing situations. This defensive alignment was often referred to as the "53" defense, named for Matheson's No. 53 jersey. This is also referred to as a 3–4 defense, with three linemen and four linebackers.

After leaving the Dolphins in 1979, Matheson returned to Duke as an assistant coach. He later coached special teams and linebackers for five years with the Miami Dolphins. He then joined Duke alumni John Gutekunst as an assistant coach at the University of Minnesota. In 1993, he returned to Duke to work at its Comprehensive Cancer Center.

Matheson died on September 5, 1994, at Duke University Hospital from complications of Hodgkin's disease, which he had had for 13 years.

References

"Matheson Swells Linebacking Corp". The Miami News. Miami, Florida. September 2, 1971. p. 20. Retrieved October 10, 2018 – via Newspapers.com .
"Bob Matheson; Football Player, 49". The New York Times. September 7, 1994. Retrieved November 9, 2007.

v t e 1967 NFL/AFL draft first-round selections
Bubba Smith Clinton Jones Steve Spurrier Bob Griese George Webster Floyd Little Mel Farr Gene Washington Bob Hyland Loyd Phillips Cas Banaszek Paul Seiler Ray McDonald Ron Billingsley Alan Page Dave Williams Gene Upshaw Bob Matheson Harry Jones Jim Detwiler John Charles John Pitts Tom Regner Gene Trosch Don Horn Leslie Kelley

v t e Cleveland Browns 1967 NFL draft selections
Bob Matheson Larry Conjar Don Cockroft Eppie Barney Carl Ward Joe Taffoni John Demarie Bill House Bill Devrow Cecil Dowdy Jim Copeland Bill Sabatino Charlie Fowler Billy Andrews Floyd Rogers Dennis Williamson Don Williams Ben Davis

v t e Cleveland Browns first-round draft picks
Carpenter Konz Rechichar Agganis Atkins B. Garrett Bauer Burris Carpenter J. Brown Shofner Kreitling Houston Crespino Collins L. Jackson Hutchinson Warfield Morin Matheson Upshaw Johnson Phipps McKay Scott Darden Holden Adams Mitchell Pruitt R. Jackson O. Newsome Matthews Adams White Dixon Banks Rogers Junkin Charlton Metcalf Turner Vardell Everitt Langham Alexander Powell Couch C. Brown Warren Green Faine Winslow Edwards Wimbley Thomas Quinn Mack Haden Taylor Richardson Weeden Mingo Gilbert Manziel Shelton Erving Coleman M. Garrett Peppers Njoku Mayfield Ward Wills G. Newsome

Cleveland Browns first-round draft picks

v t e Miami Dolphins Super Bowl VII champions
1 Garo Yepremian 7 Billy Lothridge 11 Jim Del Gaizo 12 Bob Griese 13 Jake Scott (MVP) 15 Earl Morrall 20 Larry Seiple 21 Jim Kiick 22 Mercury Morris 23 Charles Leigh 25 Tim Foley 26 Lloyd Mumphord 28 Ed Jenkins 32 Hubert Ginn 39 Larry Csonka 40 Dick Anderson 42 Paul Warfield 44 Tom Curtis 45 Curtis Johnson 49 Charlie Babb 51 Larry Ball 53 Bob Matheson 54 Howard Kindig 56 Jesse Powell 57 Mike Kolen 59 Doug Swift 60 Al Jenkins 62 Jim Langer 65 Maulty Moore 66 Larry Little 67 Bob Kuechenberg 68 Mike Kadish 72 Bob Heinz 73 Norm Evans 75 Manny Fernandez 77 Doug Crusan 78 Jim Dunaway 79 Wayne Moore 80 Marv Fleming 81 Howard Twilley 82 Otto Stowe 83 Vern Den Herder 84 Bill Stanfill 85 Nick Buoniconti 86 Marlin Briscoe 88 Jim Mandich 89 Karl Noonan
Head coach: Don Shula
Coaches: Bill Arnsparger Monte Clark Tom Keane Mike Scarry Howard Schnellenberger Carl Taseff

v t e Miami Dolphins Super Bowl VIII champions
1 Garo Yepremian 10 Don Strock 12 Bob Griese 13 Jake Scott 15 Earl Morrall 20 Larry Seiple 21 Jim Kiick 22 Mercury Morris 23 Charles Leigh 25 Tim Foley 26 Lloyd Mumphord 28 Ed Jenkins 29 Tom Smith 34 Ron Sellers 36 Don Nottingham 39 Larry Csonka (MVP) 40 Dick Anderson 42 Paul Warfield 45 Curtis Johnson 48 Henry Stuckey 49 Charles Babb 51 Larry Ball 53 Bob Matheson 54 Howard Kindig 55 Irv Goode 56 Jesse Powell 57 Mike Kolen 58 Bruce Bannon 59 Doug Swift 62 Jim Langer 64 Ed Newman 65 Maulty Moore 66 Larry Little 67 Bob Kuechenberg 70 Larry Woods 72 Bob Heinz 73 Norm Evans 75 Manny Fernandez 76 Willie Young 77 Doug Crusan 79 Wayne Moore 80 Marv Fleming 81 Howard Twilley 82 Bo Rather 83 Vern Den Herder 84 Bill Stanfill 85 Nick Buoniconti 86 Marlin Briscoe 88 Jim Mandich 89 Charlie Wade
Head coach: Don Shula
Coaches: Bill Arnsparger Monte Clark Tom Keane Bill McPeak Mike Scarry Carl Taseff

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