Tom Matte

Thomas Roland Matte (; June 14, 1939 – November 2, 2021), nicknamed "Garbage Can", was an American professional football player who spent his entire 12-season career as a running back for the Baltimore Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football as a quarterback for the Ohio State Buckeyes, and was selected by the Colts in the 1961 NFL draft and by the New York Titans in the 1961 AFL draft.

Early life Thomas Roland Matte was born on June 14, 1939, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He attended Shaw High School in East Cleveland, Ohio.

Professional career

Matte spent his 12-year professional career with the Baltimore Colts where he posted career stats of 4,646 rushing yards, 249 receptions for 2,869 yards, 1,367 yards returning kickoffs, and 57 touchdowns (45 rushing, 12 receiving). Late in the 1965 season, Matte also memorably filled in as an emergency quarterback when Johnny Unitas and Gary Cuozzo went down with season-ending injuries in consecutive home losses to the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, respectively. For the Colts' regular-season finale (a 20–17 win) against the Los Angeles Rams and the following weekend's one-game playoff at Green Bay (a 13–10 overtime loss), Colts head coach Don Shula put a list of plays on a wristband that Matte wore. The Colts were the winners of the penultimate NFL title game and advanced to Super Bowl III. Matte would rush for 116 yards on 11 carries while catching two passes for thirty yards; he set the record for highest per-carry rushing average in a Super Bowl game with 10.5, with his biggest run being a run of 58 yards that was stopped by his former teammate Johnny Sample. However, Matte would fail to reach the end zone and a fumble to start the second half only made the Colts more frustrated on their way to a 16–7 loss. The following year was even better, as he rushed for a career high 909 yards on 235 carries with a league-high 11 touchdowns while adding 43 catches for 513 yards for two touchdowns. His total touches, yards from scrimmage (1,422) and touchdowns were all league highs.

Matte was injured in the first game of the 1970 season against the San Diego Chargers and therefore did not play when the Colts returned to Super Bowl V at the end of that season and beat the Dallas Cowboys. However, he was awarded a Super Bowl ring. Matte returned for one last fresh run with the 1971 season, playing in all 14 games and rushing for 607 yards on 173 carries for eight touchdowns while catching 29 passes for 239 yards. The Colts made a run at the AFC title game once again. Matte would have his last significant playtime with the game against Cleveland, rushing 16 times for 26 yards while catching three passes for 22 yards as the Colts won 20–3. In the AFC Championship against the Miami Dolphins, he made just one catch for six yards as the Colts lost 21–0.

After spending most of the 1972 season on the practice squad, he was traded from the Colts to the Chargers for a 1973 eighth-round selection (189th overall–Ray Oldham) on January 24, 1973.

Following Unitas' lead, Matte and many of his Baltimore Colt teammates disowned the franchise after their move to Indianapolis in 1984.

Broadcasting career Matte was a color analyst on CBS coverage of NFL games from 1976 to 1978. From 1996 to 2005, Matte teamed with Baltimore sportscaster Scott Garceau in broadcasting Baltimore Ravens games on local radio.

Personal life and death Matte married his wife Judy in 1962, with whom he had two children. Matte died on November 2, 2021, in Ruxton, Maryland, from complications of leukemia. He was 82.

Career statistics

NFL Legend Won NFL Championship Super Bowl champion Led the league Bold Career high Year Team Games Rushing Receiving Fumbles GP GS Att Yds Avg Y/G Lng TD Rec Yds Avg Lng TD Fum FR 1961 BAL 8 2 13 54 4.2 6.8 11 0 1 8 8.0 8 0 0 0 1962 BAL 14 5 74 226 3.1 16.1 29 2 8 81 10.1 22 1 2 1 1963 BAL 14 13 133 541 4.1 38.6 31 4 48 466 9.7 49 1 2 0 1964 BAL 14 2 42 215 5.1 15.4 80 1 10 169 16.9 30 0 0 0 1965 BAL 14 3 69 235 3.4 16.8 20 1 12 131 10.9 15 0 2 0 1966 BAL 14 4 86 381 4.4 27.2 30 0 23 307 13.3 35 3 2 0 1967 BAL 14 14 147 636 4.3 45.4 30 9 35 496 14.2 88 3 1 0 1968 BAL 14 14 183 662 3.6 47.3 23 9 25 275 11.0 50 1 2 0 1969 BAL 14 14 235 909 3.9 64.9 26 11 43 513 11.9 49 2 4 0 1970 BAL 2 2 12 43 3.6 21.5 16 0 1 2 2.0 2 0 0 0 1971 BAL 14 14 173 607 3.5 43.4 26 8 29 239 8.2 34 0 4 1 1972 BAL 6 4 33 137 4.2 22.8 18 0 14 182 13.0 43 1 2 0Career 142 91 1,200 4,646 3.9 32.7 80 45 249 2,869 11.5 88 12 21 2

College Season Team GP Passing Rushing Cmp Att Yds TD Int Att Yds TD 1958 Ohio State 9 — — — — — 5 -4 0 1959 Ohio State 9 28 51 439 4 2 92 190 1 1960 Ohio State 9 50 95 737 8 4 161 682 2 Career 27 78 146 1,176 12 6 258 868 3