Elvin Bethea
.jpg) Bethea playing for the Oilers in 1979 | |||||||||||||
| No. 65 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position: | Defensive end | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born: | March 1, 1946 Trenton, New Jersey, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight: | 260 lb (118 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school: | Trenton Central | ||||||||||||
| College: | North Carolina A&T (1964–1967) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 1968 / round: 3 / pick: 77 | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics | |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
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 for the North Carolina A&T Aggies and was the first player from the school to be elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, having been inducted in 2003.
Early life
[edit]
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]
Professional career
[edit]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]- ^ Elvin Bethea Archived September 30, 2007, at the Wayback Machine, database Football. Accessed November 26, 2007.
- ^ http://www.chron.com/CDA/archives/archive.mpl/2003_3677140/pro-football-hall-of-fame-star-track-shot-put-cham.html [dead link]
- ^ "2000 GWI Results". Archived from the original on May 5, 2013. Retrieved December 10, 2012.
- ^ profootballhof.com
- ^ Member – Pro Football Hall of Fame
- ^ "Years - Hall of Famers | Pro Football Hall of Fame Official Site".
- ^ "Photo Gallery » Class of 2003. Enshrinement Day » Class of 2003. Enshrinement Day". Archived from the original on September 6, 2012. Retrieved December 10, 2010.
- ^ "Tar Heel Blue CSTV.com". Archived from the original on January 6, 2009. Retrieved March 27, 2009.
- ^ Bethea, Elvin (2005). Smash Mouth: My Football Journey from Trenton to Canton. Sports Publishing LLC. ISBN 158261881X. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
External links
[edit]- Member profile – Pro Football Hall of Fame
Media related to Elvin Bethea at Wikimedia Commons
- 1946 births
- Living people
- Players of American football from Trenton, New Jersey
- Trenton Central High School alumni
- American football defensive ends
- North Carolina A&T Aggies football players
- Houston Oilers players
- American Conference Pro Bowl players
- American Football League All-Star players
- Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees
- American Football League players
- National Football League players with retired numbers