Lynn Matthews
{{Short description|American football player (born 1944)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox college football player
| name = Lynn Matthews
| nickname =
| image =
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption =
| currentposition = Defensive end
| class = Graduate (B.A. 1966)
| birth_date = 1944
| birth_place = Tampa, Florida, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| currentnumber = 84
| school = Florida Gators
| pastschools = Florida (1963–1965)
| highschool = Chamberlain High School
| height_ft = 6
| height_in = 2
| weight_lbs = 214
| highlights =
- First-team All-American (1965)
- 2× Second-team All-SEC (1964, 1965)
- University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame
}}
Lynn Otto Matthews (born 1944) is an American former college football player who was recognized as an All-American. Matthews later became a newspaper publishing executive.
Early years
Matthews was born in Tampa, Florida."[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=r78MAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eF8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3772,152832&dq=lynn-o-matthews&hl=en Tampa native named Sarasota publisher]," {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200616125929/https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=r78MAAAAIBAJ&sjid=eF8DAAAAIBAJ&pg=3772,152832&dq=lynn-o-matthews&hl=en |date=June 16, 2020 }} St. Petersburg Times, p. 4B (July 6, 1991). Retrieved August 10, 2010. He attended Chamberlain High School in Tampa, and he played high school football as Captain for the Chamberlain Chiefs, earning a spot on the All-City, All-Conference, and All-State Football Teams.{{Cite book |title=Totem Yearbook |publisher=Bryn Alan |year=1962 |volume=5 |location=Tampa, Florida |publication-date=1962 |pages=84, 202 |language=English}}{{Cite news |last=McEwen |first=Tom |date=2000-07-02 |title=Matthews has come a long way from shining shoes |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-tampa-tribune-matthews-has-come-a-lo/169384292/ |access-date=2025-04-02 |work=The Tampa Tribune |page=S3 |via=Newspapers.com}}{{cn|date=September 2024}}
All-American college football career
Matthews accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he played defensive end for coach Ray Graves' Florida Gators football team from 1963 to 1965. he initially played both ways, at tight end and defensive end, but played defense exclusively after his sophomore year. He was a three-year letterman and was the defensive hero for the Gators in a 14–0 win over the Auburn Tigers in 1964.{{Cite web | first = Norm | last = Carlson | url = http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=11012&sport=footb&html=football/news/20061011083100.html | title = Rivalries and Series: Florida-Auburn | website = GatorZone.com | date = October 11, 2006 | access-date = June 6, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090607112630/http://www.gatorzone.com/story.php?id=11012&sport=footb&html=football%2Fnews%2F20061011083100.html | archive-date = June 7, 2009 | url-status = dead }} He was selected as a second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection in 1964 and 1965, and a first-team All-American in 1965.[http://web.gatorzone.com/football/media/2011/media_guide.pdf 2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120402035222/http://web.gatorzone.com/football/media/2011/media_guide.pdf |date=2012-04-02 }}, University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 87, 90, 96, 183 (2011). Retrieved August 31, 2011.{{Cite news |last=Olderman |first=Murray |date=1965-11-26 |title=Super Running Backs Head NEA All-America Teams |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/eureka-humboldt-standard-super-running-b/169384383/ |access-date=2025-04-02 |work=Eureka Humboldt Standard |page=17 |via=Newspapers.com}} He was known as a big-play maker and is regarded as one of the finest defensive ends for the Gators, and helped lead the Gators to their first New Year's Day bowl game, the 1966 Sugar Bowl. Matthews graduated from the university with a bachelor's degree in 1966, and was later inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame as a "Gator Great."F Club, Hall of Fame, [http://www.gatorfclub.org/hall-of-fame/greats Gator Greats]. Retrieved December 14, 2014. In 1999, he was chosen as a second-team selection to the University of Florida's All-Century Team, and the Gators' All-Time Team in 1983.
Newspaper publisher
At different times during his career, Matthews served as the publisher of the Ocala Star-Banner (Ocala, Florida), The Ledger (Lakeland, Florida), The Press Democrat (Santa Rosa, California) and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune (Sarasota, Florida). In 1999, he was promoted to be the president and chief operating officer of the Times Regional Newspaper Group, then consisting of twenty-one Times newspapers located mostly in the southeastern United States, including the Herald-Tribune and The Ledger.Stephen G. Reed, "[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=N54sAAAAIBAJ&sjid=T_0DAAAAIBAJ&pg=6190,5740855&dq=lynn-matthews+publisher&hl=en N.Y. Times Group Moving To Tampa]," The Ledger, p. E1 (November 17, 1999). Retrieved August 10. 2010. Matthews retired from the Times Regional Newspaper Group at the end of 2002, after nearly thirty years with the company."[https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=1U4gAAAAIBAJ&sjid=8McEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4425,4335718&dq=lynn-matthews+publisher&hl=en Former publisher to head regional newspapers]," Times Daily , p. 4D (September 29, 200). Retrieved August 10, 2010.
See also
{{Portal|American football|Biography|College football}}
- 1965 College Football All-America Team
- Florida Gators
- Florida Gators football, 1960–69
- List of Florida Gators football All-Americans
- List of University of Florida alumni
- List of University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame members
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References
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}
Bibliography
- Carlson, Norm, University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators, Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). {{ISBN|0-7948-2298-3}}.
- Golenbock, Peter, Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory, Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). {{ISBN|0-9650782-1-3}}.
- Hairston, Jack, Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told, Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). {{ISBN|1-58261-514-4}}.
- McCarthy, Kevin M., [https://books.google.com/books?id=_Tk-IQepI6cC Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football], Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). {{ISBN|978-0-7385-0559-6}}.
- McEwen, Tom, The Gators: A Story of Florida Football, The Strode Publishers, Huntsville, Alabama (1974). {{ISBN|0-87397-025-X}}.
- Nash, Noel, ed., The Gainesville Sun Presents The Greatest Moments in Florida Gators Football, Sports Publishing, Inc., Champaign, Illinois (1998). {{ISBN|1-57167-196-X}}.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Matthews, Lynn}}
Category:All-American college football players
Category:American football defensive ends
Category:American newspaper executives
Category:Florida Gators football players
Category:George D. Chamberlain High School alumni