Elvin Bethea

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Elvin Bethea
refer to caption
Bethea playing for the Oilers in 1979
No. 65
Position:Defensive end
Personal information
Born: (1946-03-01) March 1, 1946 (age 78)
Trenton, New Jersey, U.S.
Height:6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight:260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High school:Trenton (NJ) Central
College:North Carolina A&T (1964–1967)
NFL draft:1968 / Round: 3 / Pick: 77
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Tackles:691
Touchdowns:1
Player stats at NFL.com · PFR

Elvin Lamont Bethea (born March 1, 1946) is an American former professional football player who spent his entire career as a defensive end with the Houston Oilers of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football at North Carolina A&T State University and was the first person from the school to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 2003.

Career[edit]

Bethea (left) blocking a Chargers' rushing attempt during the 1979 AFC Divisional Playoff Game.

Bethea was born in Trenton, New Jersey, and played high school football and track at Trenton Central High School.[1] He set the New Jersey state record in the shot put in 1964 – 66 feet 4.5 inches - which stood until 1997.[2] He won the shot put and discus competitions at the Golden West Invitational track meet in 1964.[3]

During his career in Houston, Bethea played in 210 games, including a stretch of 135 consecutive. He played at defensive end and guard in the 1968 season and didn't miss a game until breaking his arm in a game against the Oakland Raiders in 1977. He led the team in sacks six times, finishing his career with 105 unofficial sacks.[4]

His career high was in 1973 with 16 sacks, which still ranks as the best in Oilers/Tennessee Titans history, a feat made more remarkable by the Oilers' 1-13 record.[5] In 1976 Bethea recorded 14+1⁄2 sacks, yet was not voted to the Pro Bowl. In a game against the San Diego Chargers in 1976, he recorded four sacks (his career high) and had one fumble recovery.

He also had 14+1⁄2 sacks in 1969. Other notable seasons in terms of sacks were: 1970 and 1971 with 10+1⁄2 sacks in each, 1975 with 10 and 1978 with 8. He played in the AFC Championship game in 1978 and 1979.

NFL career statistics[edit]

Legend
Led the league
Bold Career high

Regular season[edit]

Year Team Games Tackles Fumbles
GP GS Sck Sfty FR Yds Y/F TD
1968 HOU 14 4 0.5 0 0 0 — 0
1969 HOU 14 14 14.5 1 0 0 — 0
1970 HOU 14 14 10.5 0 2 0 0.0 0
1971 HOU 14 14 10.5 0 0 0 — 0
1972 HOU 14 14 7.0 0 5 0 0.0 0
1973 HOU 14 14 16.0 0 1 0 0.0 0
1974 HOU 14 14 5.0 0 2 38 19.0 1
1975 HOU 14 14 10.0 1 0 0 — 0
1976 HOU 14 14 14.5 0 2 4 2.0 0
1977 HOU 9 9 2.0 0 1 0 0.0 0
1978 HOU 16 16 8.0 0 1 0 0.0 0
1979 HOU 14 14 1.5 0 1 0 0.0 0
1980 HOU 14 12 2.0 0 1 0 0.0 0
1981 HOU 15 14 2.0 0 0 0 — 0
1982 HOU 9 0 1.0 0 0 0 — 0
1983 HOU 7 0 0.0 0 0 0 — 0
Career 210 181 105.0 2 16 42 2.6 1

Postseason[edit]

Year Team Games Sck
GP GS
1969 HOU 1 1 1.0
1978 HOU 3 3 2.0
1979 HOU 3 3 2.0
1980 HOU 1 1 2.0
Career 8 8 7.0

Awards and honors[edit]

Bethea was Second-team All-Pro in 1969, 1973, 1978 and 1979 to go with his 8 Pro Bowl selections.

Bethea was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003. He was officially inducted during the Enshrinement Ceremony on August 3, 2003,[6] where his college coach and presenter, Hornsby Howell, unveiled the bust of Bethea,[7] which was sculpted by Scott Myers.

In 2005, Bethea was inducted to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame [8]

Book[edit]

Bethea is the author of Smash-Mouth: My Football Journey from Trenton to Canton.[9]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Elvin Bethea Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, database Football. Accessed November 26, 2007.
  2. ^ http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/2003_3677140/pro-football-hall-of-fame-star-track-shot-put-cham.html [dead link]
  3. ^ "2000 GWI Results". Archived from the original on May 5, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
  4. ^ profootballhof.com
  5. ^ Member – Pro Football Hall of Fame
  6. ^ "Years - Hall of Famers | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site".
  7. ^ "Photo Gallery » Class of 2003. Enshrinement Day » Class of 2003. Enshrinement Day". Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
  8. ^ "Tar Heel Blue CSTV.com". Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
  9. ^ Bethea, Elvin (2005). Smash Mouth: My Football Journey from Trenton to Canton. Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 158261881X. Retrieved February 19, 2016.

External links[edit]

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