Football Daily

Born May 1, 1930, in Trinity, Texas, was the University of San Francisco’s stud halfback of 1949 to 1951, Ollie Matson. Ollie was blessed with the size, speed and balance that very few have been gifted with. To get the full appreciation of Ollie Matson you need to go to our Sports History Network expert on Matson’s career historian Joe Ziemba. In just his sophomore year, he averaged 5.5 yards per carry. An injury hampered his efforts as a junior, but the elusive super star returned as a senior and led the Dons of San Fran to an undefeated record in 1951. Ollie won the "Mr. Touchdown" award scoring 21 touchdowns and finishing as a contender for the Heisman Trophy. After that season he turned around and won the silver and bronze medals in the 1952 Olympic Games! The College Football Hall of Fame proudly placed a display in honor of Ollie Matson into their legendary museum in 1976. In 1952 Matson was the number one overall pick by the Chicago Cardinals in the NFL Draft. He played well for the Cards but was traded to the Rams in 1959 for nine players! You can learn more about that trade here. Ollie racked up over 12,000 yards of total offense in the League and was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972.