Arthur Matsu
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | Glasgow, Scotland | April 30, 1904
Died | May 1987 (aged 83) Arizona, U.S. |
Playing career | |
1923–1926 | William & Mary |
1928 | Dayton Triangles |
Position(s) | Benedictine HS (VA) |
1931–1950s | Rutgers (assistant) |
Arthur A. Matsu (April 30, 1904 – May 1987) was an
Early years
Matsu was born in
Matsu continued to excel as an athlete and became a multi-sport star at Cleveland's
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).[2] He gained national acclaim as the quarterback for the William & Mary Tribe football team from 1923 to 1926. In December 1925, he was selected by his teammates as the captain of the 1926 team.[6][7] He was the first Asian-American to be selected as the captain of an American college football team.[8]
Matsu was considered a "triple-threat man" due to his ability to pass, run, and punt.[2][9] 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 noted
Harvard 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.[10]
He gained further notice for scoring against every major college football team that he played against from 1923 to 1925.[11][12] 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."[8] A nationally syndicated profile on Matsu was published in the fall of 1926; the article reviewed his academic and sporting accomplishments and concluded: "The college with its 1,100 students, half of whom are coeds, are proud of their Jap Captain, the first of his nationality to gain fame on the gridiron."[2] After a game against Harvard in 1925, The New York Times wrote
Matsu, the quarterback, who is of Scotch and Japanese parents, played a splendid game. Besides punting in fine fashion and making some steady advances when he carried the ball, the tall and thin player saved his team many times when he called the plays so that the Crimson defense was baffled.[13]
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.[3][14] 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.[3] One author has suggested that the law may have passed in response to the presence and popularity of Matsu on the William & Mary campus: "[F]ears that Matsu's popularity would spark interracial fraternization may have helped prompt Virginia's Legislature to pass the Racial Purity Act in 1924, extending the state's miscegenation law and explicitly forbidding intermarriage between Asians and whites."[15]
The
Professional football
Matsu played professional football for the
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.[17]
Coaching
In September 1929, Matsu was hired as the head football coach at
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.[3][19] Matsu also taught physical education at Rutgers and was promoted from instructor to assistant professor in June 1934.[21] Matsu remained an assistant football coach at Rutgers from 1931 until the 1950s.[22] He served as the freshman coach in the late 1930 and was assigned to do publicity work in the spring of 1941.[23] He was Rutgers' backfield coach in the early 1950s and resumed responsibility as the freshman coach in 1955.[24] Frank Burns, who played quarterback for Rutgers in the 1950s, said of Matsu: "He was a master of offensive football, a true innovator."[3]
Later years
Matsu moved to Arizona in the late 1950s. During his later years, he worked as a real estate salesman and did scouting for Arizona State University.[15][25] He died in May 1987.
References
- ^ a b c "Arthur Matsu Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 11, 2024.
- ^ a b c d e "Matsu, The Jap Quarter For W.M. A Good Student". Gastonia Daily Gazette (Gastonia, North Carolina). November 12, 1926.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Nippon QB" (PDF). Virginia Living. October 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 2, 2010.
- ^ Paul Purman (July 5, 1917). "Jim and Howard, Take Your Hats Off To This Japanese Boy, He's Got You Both Beat". The Bismarck Tribune (Bismarck, North Dakota).
- ^ "Syracuse Gets Famous Coach". Kingston Daily Freeman (Kingston, New York). August 24, 1923.
- ^ "Matsu Grid Leader". The Kingsport Times (Kingsport, Tennessee). December 20, 1925.
- ^ "Matsu Grid Leader of W.&M. in 1926". Syracuse Herald (Syracuse, New York). December 27, 1925.
- ^ a b "College Picks Jap To Captain Gridiron Team". The Evening Independent. February 6, 1926.
- ^ "William & Mary Books Eastern Gridiron Teams". The Evening Independent (AP story). September 2, 1925.
- ^ "Jap Quarterback To Oppose Harvard Next Saturday". Portsmouth Herald (Portsmouth, New Hampshire). September 28, 1925.
- ^ "Japanese Quarter". Oakland Tribune. December 5, 1925.(Art Matsu "has attained the unique distinction of having scored on every major eleven that his college has played in three years")
- ^ "Freak Feat: Jap Star Scores on Every Major Eleven He Played Against". Lima News (Lima, Ohio). December 6, 1925.
- ^ "HARVARD WINS, 14–7; W. & M. SURPRISES; Southerners Play So Aggressively That Result Is in Doubt Until Final Period. MATSU AMAZES CROWD Gives Virginians 7–0 Lead in Second Quarter – Sayles Saves Crimson in Hard Battle" (PDF). The New York Times. November 1, 1925.
- ^ Joel S. Franks. Asian Pacific Americans and baseball: A History. p. 74.
- ^ a b c Greg Robinson (April 5, 2007). "The Great Unknown and the Unknown Great: GRIDIRON PIONEER: Art Matsu, a Multi-racial Nikkei, Broke Ground". Nichi Bei Times Weekly.
- ^ "1928 Dayton Triangles". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Friedman Eleven Wins At Richmond" (PDF). The New York Times. January 2, 1930.
- ^ "Jap Coaches Football". Montana Standard (Butte, Montana) (AP story). September 15, 1929.
- ^ a b "MATSU IS APPOINTED: Named Assistant Coach of Football at Rutgers" (PDF). The New York Times. March 11, 1931.
- ^ "Prep School Team Here Tomorrow: Yellow Jackets Entertain Benedictine Eleven at Local Field; Richmond Gridders Coached By Art Matsu, Brilliant Jap Star; Boast Strong Aerial Attack". The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, Virginia). November 19, 1930.
- ^ "Additions Are Made To Rutgers Faculty" (PDF). The New York Times. June 30, 1935.
- ^ "Rutgers Coach Sees Rosy Future for Scarlet" (PDF). The New York Times. September 19, 1955.
- ^ "Len Cooke to Coach Rutgers Freshmen". The Christian Science Monitor. April 18, 1941.
- ^ "Rutgers Coaches Shift Positions" (PDF). The New York Times. March 27, 1955.
- ^ "Meet the Staff of Summit Realty". The Prescott Courier. April 17, 1977.
External links
- Career statistics and player information from Pro Football Reference