 The Archive 1928, Saint Louis yearbook | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1887-08-06)August 6, 1887 Leadville, Colorado, U.S. |
| Died | September 1, 1947(1947-09-01) (aged 60) Portland, Oregon, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| Football | |
| 1907 | Willamette |
| 1908–1910 | Notre Dame |
| Position | Back |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1911 | St. Edward's |
| 1912–1914 | Kenyon |
| 1915–1920 | Willamette |
| 1921 | Washington (freshmen) |
| 1922–1925 | Idaho |
| 1926–1927 | Saint Louis |
| 1929 | Gonzaga |
| 1931–1932 | West Seattle Athletic Club |
| 1937–1942 | Portland |
| 1944 | Portland Rockets |
| 1946 | Lewis & Clark |
| Basketball | |
| 1929–1930 | Gonzaga |
| 1942–1943 | Portland |
| 1945–1946 | Lewis & Clark |
| Baseball | |
| 1922 | Washington |
| 1942 | Portland |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1915–1921 | Willamette |
| 1922–1926 | Idaho |
| 1929–1930 | Gonzaga |
| 1937–1944 | Portland |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 3–6 (AFL) 8–8 (college basketball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Football 1Northwest Conference (1924) | |
Robert Lee "Matty"Mathews (August 6, 1887 – September 1, 1947) was an Americanfootball player and coach. He was the head football coach atSt. Edward's College (1911),Kenyon College (1912–1914),Willamette University (1915–1920), theUniversity of Idaho (1922–1925),Saint Louis University (1926–1927),Gonzaga University (1929), theUniversity of Portland (1937–1942),[1] andLewis & Clark College (1945–1946).
He was born on August 6, 1887, inLeadville, Colorado.
Mathews playedcollege football atWillamette University inSalem, Oregon, as a freshman then transferred to theUniversity of Notre Dame in1908 and played three seasons for theFighting Irish inSouth Bend, Indiana.[2][3][4] During his senior season in1910, future coaching legendKnute Rockne was a freshman end.
In Mathews' four seasons at Idaho, the Vandals' first years in thePacific Coast Conference, they wonthree consecutiverivalry games overPalouse neighborWashington State. Idaho lost the other, Mathews' first in1922, by a single point, and he remains the only Idaho head coach with multiple wins over WSU. The Vandals made significant use of the forward pass under Mathews,[5] who was also the athletic director at Idaho.[6][7]
He leftMoscow and the Northwest after1925 forSt. Louis for two seasons (1926–27) but did not coach during the 1928 season,[8] and worked in private business inAkron, Ohio, until hired at Gonzaga in June 1929.[5] After less than a year inSpokane as athletic director and head coach infootball andbasketball,[9][10] he resigned in April 1930 to pursue career options closer to the coast.[11]
Mathews was also the head coach of theWest Seattle Athletic Club in 1931 and 1932 and of theAmerican Football League's Portland Rockets in 1944.[12][13] In the 1930s, he supervised athletics for theCivilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camps in the state ofWashington.[14]
He returned to college football inOregon at the University of Portland in 1937, where he was also athletic director. DuringWorld War II, the school dropped football prior to the1943 season and Mathews resigned as AD the following spring when the administration extended the hiatus for the1944 season.[1][15] Entering his third season at Lewis & Clark in1947,[16]
Mathews died on September 1 at the age of 60 of aheart attack at his home inPortland, Oregon.[14][17]
| Year | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Bowl/playoffs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St. Edward's Saints(1911) | |||||||||
| 1911 | St. Edward's | ||||||||
| St. Edward's: | |||||||||
| Kenyon Lords(Ohio Athletic Conference)(1912–1914) | |||||||||
| 1912 | Kenyon | 4–3–1 | 2–3–1 | T–7th | |||||
| 1913 | Kenyon | 5–3–1 | 1–3–1 | T–8th | |||||
| 1914 | Kenyon | 4–3–1 | 2–3 | 7th | |||||
| Kenyon: | 13–9–3 | 5–9–2 | |||||||
| Willamette Methodists/Bearcats(1915–1920) | |||||||||
| 1915 | Willamette | 2–2–1 | |||||||
| 1916 | Willamette | 4–2 | |||||||
| 1917 | Willamette | 1–1 | |||||||
| 1918 | No team—World War I | ||||||||
| 1919 | Willamette | 4–1 | |||||||
| 1920 | Willamette | 3–1–1 | |||||||
| Willamette: | 14–7–2 | ||||||||
| Idaho Vandals(Northwest Conference /Pacific Coast Conference)(1922–1925) | |||||||||
| 1922 | Idaho | 3–5 | 2–3 / 0–4 | 4th / 8th | |||||
| 1923 | Idaho | 5–2–1 | 3–0–1 / 2–2–1 | 2nd / T–3rd | |||||
| 1924 | Idaho | 5–2–1 | 4–0–1 / 4–2 | T–1st / 4th | |||||
| 1925 | Idaho | 3–5 | 2–3 / 2–3 | T–4th / T–6th | |||||
| Idaho: | 16–14–2 | 11–12–2 | |||||||
| Saint Louis Billikens(Independent)(1926–1927) | |||||||||
| 1926 | Saint Louis | 3–6 | |||||||
| 1927 | Saint Louis | 5–5 | |||||||
| Saint Louis: | 8–11 | ||||||||
| Gonzaga Bulldogs(Independent)(1929) | |||||||||
| 1929 | Gonzaga | 4–3 | |||||||
| Gonzaga: | 4–3 | ||||||||
| Portland Pilots(Independent)(1937–1942) | |||||||||
| 1937 | Portland | 4–3–1 | |||||||
| 1938 | Portland | 5–3 | |||||||
| 1939 | Portland | 1–5–1 | |||||||
| 1940 | Portland | 2–3–1 | |||||||
| 1941 | Portland | 3–5 | |||||||
| 1942 | Portland | 5–2 | |||||||
| Portland: | 20–21–3 | ||||||||
| Lewis & Clark Pioneers(Independent)(1946) | |||||||||
| 1946 | Lewis & Clark | 3–4–1 | |||||||
| Lewis & Clark: | 3–4–1 | ||||||||
| Total: | |||||||||
