Arthur Matsu

Arthur A. Matsu (April 30, 1904 – May 28, 1987 ) was an American football player and coach. He was the first Asian-American student at The College of William & Mary and the quarterback and captain of the school's football team. He was later selected by the Richmond Times-Dispatch as the best quarterback to play at William & Mary in the first half of the 20th century. He played one season of professional football for the Dayton Triangles and was the first Asian-American quarterback in the National Football League. He was an assistant football coach at Rutgers University for more than 20 years.

Early years Matsu was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1904.

Matsu continued to excel as an athlete and became a multi-sport star at Cleveland's East High School. In August 1923, he won the national scholastic diving championship. He was recruited as an athlete by both Princeton University and The College of William & Mary.

William & Mary At the urging of football coach J. Wilder Tasker, Matsu chose William & Mary, the second oldest college in the United States located in Williamsburg, Virginia. Matsu was the first Asian-American student at William & Mary and a star athlete in football, basketball, baseball, and track (as a pole vaulter). He was the first Asian-American to be selected as the captain of an American college football team.

Matsu was considered a "triple-threat man" due to his ability to pass, run, and punt. While much of the press coverage focused on the novelty of a Japanese football player, the coverage also emphasized his athleticism. In October 1925, one writer notedHarvard probably will face something new Saturday in playing William and Mary College to the extent of being opposed by a Japanese quarterback. Yale had a Chinese shortstop but so far as known, Art Matsu is the only Japanese playing college football in the east. ... Matsu ... is a splendid player and good field general. He gained further notice for scoring against every major college football team that he played against from 1923 to 1925. In February 1926, another sportswriter observed: "An able, consistent punter, good ball carrier, and sure tackler, the Japanese makes up in brains and speed what he lacks in poundage." Matsu also served as a campus leader at William & Mary and was elected as the president of the Varsity Club and a member of the school's secret society, the Seven Society. In 1924, while Matsu was attending William & Mary, the State of Virginia passed a law prohibiting marriage between whites and Asians, a law under which the marriage between Matsu's parents would have been illegal. He joined Walter "Sneeze" Achiu on the Daytons. A native of Hawaii, Achiu was the first Asian-American to play in the National Football League. Matsu appeared in six of seven games played by the Triangles in 1928, including four as a starter. He was the only starting NFL quarterback with Japanese ancestry until Jayden Daniels in 2024.

On January 1, 1930, Matsu was the quarterback for a Virginia all-star team that played against Benny Friedman's all-star professional team in a game at Richmond Stadium. Matsu completed a touchdown pass that covered more than 60 yards for the Virginia squad.

Coaching In September 1929, Matsu was hired as the head football coach at Asheville High School in Asheville, North Carolina. He was reported by the Associated Press to be "the first Japanese football coach." In 1930, Matsu moved to Richmond, Virginia, as the head football coach at Benedictine Preparatory School. His 1930 Benedictine team became renowned for its aerial attack.

In 1931, J. Wilder Tasker, who had coached Matsu at William & Mary, was hired as the head football coach at Rutgers University. He promptly recruited Matsu to join him as the backfield coach at Rutgers. Matsu remained an assistant football coach at Rutgers from 1931 until the 1950s. He served as the freshman coach in the late 1930 and was assigned to do publicity work in the spring of 1941. He was Rutgers' backfield coach in the early 1950s and resumed responsibility as the freshman coach in 1955. Frank Burns, who played quarterback for Rutgers in the 1950s, said of Matsu: "He was a master of offensive football, a true innovator." He died in May 1987.