Ned Mathews

Ned Alfred Mathews (August 11, 1918 – September 18, 2002) was an American professional football player who was a running back for four seasons in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions and Boston Yanks.^[1] With the Lions, he led the league in kickoff returns and ranked second in interceptions thrown.^[2] He also played in the American Football League for the Hollywood Rangers, with whom he scored 18 touchdowns on 65 carries.^[3][2] Mathews was a college football quarterback for the UCLA Bruins.

Ned Mathews

Mathews, circa 1948
Profile
Position	Running back
Personal information
Born	(1918-08-11)August 11, 1918 Provo, Utah, U.S.
Died	September 18, 2002(2002-09-18) (aged 84)
Career information
College	UCLA
Career history
Playing
1941–1943	Detroit Lions
1944	Hollywood Rangers
1945	Boston Yanks
1946	Chicago Rockets
1947	San Francisco 49ers
Coaching
1946	Chicago Rockets
1948	UCLA
1949–1951	Arizona

In 1945, Mathews entered the United States Army and coached football, basketball, and baseball for Fort MacArthur. Upon his discharge a year later, he was a player-coach for the Chicago Rockets in the All-America Football Conference before joining the San Francisco 49ers.^[2][4] He returned to UCLA as a backfield coach in 1948 and served in the same position at Arizona the following year.^[5][2] He coached at Arizona for two years; after the 1951 season, amid turmoil involving incumbent head coach Bob Winslow, Mathews was suggested as his successor by the team's players, but the program instead hired Warren B. Woodson who did not retain Mathews. Mathews remained in Tucson as a businessman.^[6][7]