ACC 50th Anniversary Team - Bob Matheson

Aug. 19, 2002

By Jim Sumner

Duke has had its share of top-notch linebackers over the last half century: Mike Curtis, Dick Biddle, Keith Stoneback, Mike Junkin, to name a few. But Bob Matheson tops them all. Matheson was the prototype linebacker, bringing to the table size, speed, smarts and aggression.

Matheson's childhood reads like something out of Gil Thorpe. He grew up in Boone, N.C., in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. In fact, he went to Appalachian High School, where he starred in football and basketball. Shortly after graduating from Duke he married his high school sweetheart, Pam Hamby. Yes, she was a cheerleader. Hunting, fishing, and American Legion baseball round out the picture.

Matheson entered Duke in the fall of 1963, at the end of Duke's last period of sustained ACC dominance. Under the tutelage of Bill Murray, Duke won ACC titles in 1960, 1961 and 1962. After the required year with the freshman team, Matheson joined the varsity in 1964 as a 215-pound running back. He rushed for 247 yards in 62 carries to help the Devils to a 4-5-1 mark. Many predicted running-back stardom for Matheson.

This big running back, however, kept getting bigger and stronger. Amazingly, he did so without losing any speed. With the addition of powerful sophomore fullback Jay Calabrese in 1965, Murray had the luxury of two big, talented running backs - and it was a luxury he couldn't afford. After working out on both offense and defense in the preseason, Matheson was moved to linebacker for good just prior to the 1965 opener.

This was an inspired decision. Matheson was an unusual combination of size and speed. He also was one of those players who would rather hit than be hit. Matheson became a ferocious tackler. "Boone (Matheson's nickname) was a playful country boy off the field but became very competitive once he crossed the white line," Calabrese said.

Led by quarterback Scotty Glacken, Duke started the 1965 season with wins over Virginia, South Carolina, Rice and Pittsburgh. On the verge of a national ranking, the Devils hosted Clemson for homecoming. Duke dominated the game but lost six fumbles, including miscues at the Clemson 10, 3, and 11 yard lines, the last one coming with less than two minutes to play. Clemson won 3-2. Matheson, however, was in on 21 tackles in his coming-out party. Glacken suffered a season-ending knee injury in game six, a 28-14 loss to Illinois and Duke struggled down the stretch. The season ended on a high note, however, with a 34-7 win over North Carolina. Matheson sealed the win with a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown. The win, coupled with a South Carolina win over Clemson, gave Duke a 4-2 conference mark, 6-4, overall, and a share of the ACC title with South Carolina. Murray announced his retirement immediately following the Carolina game. Matheson was named All-ACC linebacker.

Cornell coach Tom Harp was hired to replace Murray. Harp, in a recent phone conversation, recalled his first practices with Matheson. "He already had a pretty good reputation when I got there but I found out he was better than his reputation. He had a lot of qualities. He was a big, old tough country boy with a fantastic work effort. We never had to push him. He was a leader, a hustler, and a winner. He absolutely hated to lose."

Harp had another challenge for Matheson. Duke didn't have a placekicker for 1966. Tryouts were held and the senior linebacker won. Matheson wasn't a great kicker by any means. He missed four extra points over the season and only made three field goals. In fact, Harp put in a trick play for kicking situations where the ball would be snapped directly to Matheson, who would attempt to run for the score or first down. The play worked several times, before defenses caught on.

Injuries killed Harp's first season. Duke opened with wins over West Virginia and Pittsburgh but quarterback Al Woodall hurt his elbow against the Panthers. His backup, Todd Orvald, helped Duke to a win over Virginia but then separated a shoulder. Matheson missed a PAT against the Cavaliers but got the points back with the fake two-point conversion play. Woodall came back and tried to play with an elbow cast but sprained an ankle. Defensive back Larry Davis took over at quarterback. Predictably, Duke's offense sputtered but Matheson was superb.

By this point he was up to 240 pounds. To put this into perspective, he and tackle Fred Zirkle were Duke's two biggest players. The ACC, in 1966, had all-conference lineman who barely tipped the scales at 200 pounds. Matheson, based on his size, should have been playing defensive tackle. But he was fast enough to run down backs, fast enough to sack quarterbacks, fast enough to cover the entire field. He was in on 19 tackles against Georgia Tech, with a pair of fumble recoveries, and participated in 24 tackles against North Carolina State. Duke lost both games by lopsided margins.

Matheson's high-water mark came in a dramatic 9-7 win over Navy. The Duke co-captain was in on 24 tackles. Late in the third quarter, with Duke trailing 7-6, he blocked a punt, which he recovered on the Navy 11. After the drive, stalled, he kicked a 21-yard field goal for the victory. When was the last time you saw an All-America linebacker kick a game-winning field goal? Matheson received national recognition for his effort.

Duke plummeted back to earth the next week against top-ranked Notre Dame. The Irish mauled Duke, cruising to a 64-0 win. Pam Matheson recalls this game as "the worst day of Bob's career, It was his worst nightmare." Matheson finished his college career with a shootout against North Carolina. Not surprisingly, Matheson made the key play. A UNC touchdown late in the game cut the Duke lead to 27-25. Matheson stopped UNC quarterback Jeff Beaver on the two-point conversion, preserving the lead. Duke scored two touchdowns on interceptions in the last 70 seconds for a misleading 41-25 final score. The Devils ended the year 5-5.

Matheson piled up postseason honors. Although Virginia quarterback Bob Davis was named ACC player of the year, Matheson was the leading vote getter on the all-conference team. He made numerous All-America teams, including first-team on the prestigious Associated Press team. He was named Duke MVP and played in the North-South game.

The Cleveland Browns made Matheson their first-round selection in the 1967 NFL draft. After four uneventful years in Cleveland, he was traded to Miami, where he excelled as a versatile linebacker, capable of rushing the passer, stopping the run, and covering backs out of the backfield. Matheson was so important to Miami's success that they named their famous "53 defense" after his uniform number. That success included Super Bowl titles following the 1972 and 1973 seasons. The 1972 team produced the NFL's only undefeated record at 17-0 and makes most short lists for the best team in professional sports history.

Matheson retired after the 1979 season. He was Red Wilson's linebacker coach at Duke in 1981 and 1982 and later coached for the Dolphins and at the University of Minnesota.

In 1982 Matheson was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymph nodes. He fought the disease into remission three times before succumbing in 1994. At the time of his death, he was working as a fund-raiser for the Cancer Center at Duke.

I'll let Jay Calabrese have the last word on his friend. The two were going through a routine tackling drill during the spring of 1966, in front of about a dozen NFL scouts. "I was just running through the drill," Calabrese recalls, "but Bob just pancaked me, just plastered me. I jumped up but he looked over at the scouts and said, "They're here and I just want to show them something.'"

Bob Matheson showed something to a lot of people.

ACC 50th Anniversary Team - Bob Matheson

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