In 1972, Al Matthews became the first Black coach in University of Texas athletics history when he joined the staff of legendary head football coach Darrell K Royal. When news broke of Matthews’ passing on Tuesday, March 11, Longhorn fans mourned the loss of a ground-breaking figure.
The Texas football program announced his passing on Tuesday evening. The former Longhorn assistant coach died at 77 years old.
Matthews joined Royal’s staff while still playing in the NFL for the Green Bay Packers and worked with the Horns in the spring ahead of the 1972 and 1973 seasons.
Matthews played collegiate football for Texas A&I, which is now known as Texas A&M–Kingsville, before the Packers selected him in the second round of the 1970 NFL Draft. He spent five years with the Packers before joining the Seattle Seahawks in 1976 and then the San Francisco 49ers in 1977.
The former Texas assistant was inducted into the Javelina Hall of Fame in 1985 by the Texas A&M-Kingsville program, just two years after Royal was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
Royal coached the Longhorns for nearly two decades (1957-76) and led Texas to a resounding 167 wins with just 47 losses. He coached the Horns to three national championships and won 11 Southwest Conference titles with Texas. Matthews was on his staff for two of the SWC Championship campaigns (1972 & 1973).
Matthews grew up in Austin and attended Stephen F. Austin High School, just 15 minutes from the Longhorns’ home stadium, which has since been renamed after the legendary head coach (Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium).
Leave a Reply