View source for Bill Mathis

{{Short description|American football player (1938–2020)}}
{{Use American English|date=October 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox gridiron football biography
| name          = Bill Mathis
| image         = Bill Mathis 1963.jpg
| number        = 31
| position      = [[Running back]]
| birth_date    = {{Birth date|1938|12|10|mf=y}}
| birth_place   = [[Rocky Mount, North Carolina]], U.S.
| death_date    = {{Death date and age|2020|10|20|1938|12|10|mf=y}}<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.newyorkjets.com/news/bill-mathis-titans-jets-great-from-1960-69-passes-away-at-81 |title=Bill Mathis, Titans/Jets Great from 1960-69, Passes Away at 81|access-date=22 October 2020}}</ref>
| death_place   = [[Marietta, Georgia]], U.S.
| height_ft     = 6
| height_in     = 1
| weight_lb     = 220
| high_school   = [[Manchester High School (Georgia)|Manchester (GA)]]
| college       = [[Clemson Tigers football|Clemson]]
| draftyear     = 1960
| draftround    = 8
| draftpick     = 88
| afldraftyear  = 1960
| afldraftround = 1
| pastteams     =
* [[New York Jets|New York Titans/Jets]] ([[1960 American Football League season|1960]]–[[1969 American Football League season|1969]])
| highlights    =
* [[List of Super Bowl champions|Super Bowl champion]] ([[Super Bowl III|III]])
* ''[[Sporting News|TSN]]'' All-AFL (1961)
* 2× [[American Football League All-Star game|AFL All-Star]] (1961, 1963)
* First-team [[List of All-Atlantic Coast Conference football teams|All-ACC]] ([[1959 All-Atlantic Coast Conference football team|1959]])
| statleague    = AFL
| statlabel1    = Rushing yards
| statvalue1    = 3,589
| statlabel2    = Rushing average
| statvalue2    = 3.4
| statlabel3    = [[Reception (gridiron football)|Reception]]s
| statvalue3    = 149
| statlabel4    = Receiving yards
| statvalue4    = 1,775
| statlabel5    = Total [[touchdown]]s
| statvalue5    = 46
| pfr           = M/MathBi00
}}

'''Bill Mathis''' (December 10, 1938 – October 20, 2020) was an American professional [[American football|football]] player who was a [[running back]] for the [[New York Jets|New York Titans/Jets]] in the [[American Football League]] (AFL).<ref>[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MathBi00.htm Bill Mathis Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> He played [[college football]] for the [[Clemson Tigers football|Clemson Tigers]]. He also competed on the [[Clemson Tigers track and field]] team.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020-10-22 |title=Clemson Athletic Hall of Famer Bill Mathis Passes Away |url=https://clemsontigers.com/clemson-athletic-hall-of-famer-bill-mathis-passes-away/ |access-date=2024-05-18 |website=Clemson Tigers Official Athletics Site |language=en-US}}</ref> He started his professional career with the Titans, and played his entire career with the AFL's New York franchise. One of four Titans who remained with the New York Jets to play in and win a [[Super Bowl]], Mathis led the AFL in carries in [[1961 AFL season|1961]] and was selected by his peers to the [[The Sporting News|Sporting News]] [[1961 All-AFL Team|1961 AFL All-League]] team.  He was an [[American Football League All-Star game|AFL Eastern Division All-Star]] in 1961 and 1963.  Mathis had a collarbone broken in the third game of 1961, against the [[History of the New England Patriots|Boston Patriots]].  He played in the next game, and in fact in all the remaining games of the season.

That persistence allowed him to gain a roster spot year after year, including being a member of the 1968 world champion Jets team that beat the NFL champion Baltimore Colts in [[Super Bowl III]]. Mathis played one additional season in 1969 before retiring. He is one of 20 players who were in the AFL for its entire 10-year existence, and one of 7 players who played their entire AFL careers for one franchise. He was inducted into the [[Clemson University]] Hall of Fame, [[South Carolina]] Hall of Fame, and the [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] Hall of Fame.

While a member of the Jets, Mathis appeared as an imposter for a Coast Guard captain on the October 11, 1965 episode of the [[CBS|CBS Television]] game show ''[[To Tell the Truth]]'', receiving one of the four votes.<ref>{{cite web |title=To Tell the Truth |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=358k_mWIc9Y |website=[[CBS|CBS Television]] |access-date=9 November 2025}}</ref>

After retiring from football, Mathis began a career on [[Wall Street]], starting at the firm [[Cogan, Berlind, Weill & Levitt]].<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=noI5n-RRLi8C&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31 Can Ex-Athletes Make it on Wall Street].  New York Magazine, January 8, 1973</ref>

==AFL career statistics==
{| class="wikitable mw-collapsible"
|-
! colspan="2"| Legend
|-
| style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"|
| Won the [[Super Bowl]]
|-
| style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"|
| Led the league
|-
| '''Bold'''
| Career high
|}

===Regular season===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="2"| Games
! colspan="5"| Rushing
! colspan="5"| Receiving
|-
! GP !! GS !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD
|-
! [[1960 American Football League season|1960]] !! [[1960 New York Titans season|NYT]]
| 14 || 9 || 92 || 307 || 3.3 || 17 || 2 || 18 || 103 || 5.7 || 24 || 0
|-
! [[1961 American Football League season|1961]] !! [[1961 New York Titans season|NYT]]
| 14 || 14 || style="background:#cfecec; width:3em;"| '''202''' || '''846''' || '''4.2''' || 30 || '''7''' || 12 || 42 || 3.5 || 14 || 1
|-
! [[1962 American Football League season|1962]] !! [[1962 New York Titans season|NYT]]
| 11 || 6 || 71 || 245 || 3.5 || 41 || 3 || 6 || 32 || 5.3 || 14 || 0
|-
! [[1963 American Football League season|1963]] !! [[1963 New York Jets season|NYJ]]
| 14 || 12 || 107 || 268 || 2.5 || 16 || 1 || 18 || 177 || 9.8 || 33 || 1
|-
! [[1964 American Football League season|1964]] !! [[1964 New York Jets season|NYJ]]
| 14 || 13 || 105 || 305 || 2.9 || 31 || 4 || 4 || 39 || 9.8 || 15 || 0
|-
! [[1965 American Football League season|1965]] !! [[1965 New York Jets season|NYJ]]
| 14 || 14 || 147 || 604 || 4.1 || '''79''' || 5 || 17 || 242 || 14.2 || 32 || 1
|-
! [[1966 American Football League season|1966]] !! [[1966 New York Jets season|NYJ]]
| 14 || 7 || 72 || 208 || 2.9 || 23 || 2 || 22 || 379 || '''17.2''' || '''70''' || 1
|-
! [[1967 American Football League season|1967]] !! [[1967 New York Jets season|NYJ]]
| 14 || 9 || 78 || 243 || 3.1 || 18 || 4 || '''25''' || '''429''' || '''17.2''' || 38 || '''3'''
|-
! [[1968 American Football League season|1968]] !! style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"| [[1968 New York Jets season|NYJ]]
| 14 || 5 || 74 || 208 || 2.8 || 16 || 5 || 9 || 149 || 16.6 || 31 || 1
|-
! [[1969 American Football League season|1969]] !! [[1969 New York Jets season|NYJ]]
| 14 || 2 || 96 || 355 || 3.7 || 27 || 4 || 18 || 183 || 10.2 || 35 || 1
|-
! colspan="2"| !! 137 !! 91 !! 1,044 !! 3,589 !! 3.4 !! 79 !! 37 !! 149 !! 1,775 !! 11.9 !! 70 !! 9
|}

===Playoffs===
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|-
! rowspan="2"| Year
! rowspan="2"| Team
! colspan="2"| Games
! colspan="5"| Rushing
! colspan="5"| Receiving
|-
! GP !! GS !! Att !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD !! Rec !! Yds !! Avg !! Lng !! TD
|-
! [[1968 American Football League season|1968]] !! style="background:#afe6ba; width:3em;"| [[1968 New York Jets season|NYJ]]
| 2 || 0 || '''6''' || 10 || 1.7 || 5 || 0 || '''3''' || '''20''' || '''6.7''' || '''13''' || 0
|-
! [[1969 American Football League season|1969]] !! [[1969 New York Jets season|NYJ]]
| 1 || 0 || '''6''' || '''11''' || '''1.8''' || '''6''' || 0 || 1 || 4 || 4.0 || 4 || 0
|-
! colspan="2"| !! 3 !! 0 !! 12 !! 21 !! 1.8 !! 6 !! 0 !! 4 !! 24 !! 6.0 !! 13 !! 0
|}

==See also==
*[[List of American Football League players|Other American Football League players]]

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.conigliofamily.com/TitansJets.htm#jersey Mathis' jersey from his 1961 injury]

{{1960 New York Titans}}
{{49ers1960DraftPicks}}
{{Super Bowl III}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mathis, Bill}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:2020 deaths]]
[[Category:American football running backs]]
[[Category:People from Greenville, Georgia]]
[[Category:People from Manchester, Georgia]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from the Atlanta metropolitan area]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Rocky Mount, North Carolina]]
[[Category:Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Clemson Tigers football players]]
[[Category:New York Titans (AFL) players]]
[[Category:New York Jets players]]
[[Category:American Football League players]]
[[Category:American Football League All-Star players]]
[[Category:American Football League All-League players]]
[[Category:Track and field athletes from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Clemson Tigers men's track and field athletes]]