Bill Mathis

{{Short description|American football player (1938–2020)}}

{{Use American English|date=October 2020}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}

{{Infobox NFL 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}}{{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}}

| death_place = Marietta, Georgia, U.S.

| height_ft = 6

| height_in = 1

| weight_lbs = 220

| high_school = Manchester (GA)

| college = Clemson

| draftyear = 1960

| draftround = 8

| draftpick = 88

| afldraftyear = 1960

| afldraftround = 1
Pick: First Selections
(by the Denver Broncos)

| pastteams =

• New York Titans/Jets (1960–1969)

| highlights =

• Super Bowl champion (III)
• TSN All-AFL (1961)
• 2× AFL All-Star (1961, 1963)
• First-team All-ACC (1959)

| pfr = M/MathBi00

}}

Bill Mathis (December 10, 1938 – October 20, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a running back for the New York Titans/Jets in the American Football League (AFL).[https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/M/MathBi00.htm Bill Mathis Statistics - Pro-Football-Reference.com] He played college football for the Clemson Tigers. He also competed on the Clemson Tigers track and field team.{{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}} 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 and was selected by his peers to the Sporting News 1961 AFL All-League team. He was an AFL Eastern Division All-Star in 1961 and 1963. Mathis had a collarbone broken in the third game of 1961, against the 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, and end his career in 1969 after winning Super Bowl III. He is one of twenty players who were in the AFL for its entire ten-year existence, and seven 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 Hall of Fame.

After retiring from football, Mathis began a career on Wall Street, starting at the firm Cogan, Berlind, Weill & Levitt.[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