Houston Sports - Elvin Bethea

Elvin Bethea

Born: March 1, 1946

Sport: Football (3-time All American, 8-time Pro Bowl, 2-time All Pro, Hall of Fame)

Although the Houston Texans are currently the team that local football fans cheer for in our area, we all remember the original NFL team to call the Bayou City home.  And while Bud Adams may have taken the team and all the franchise history with him when he left town, we still have a relationship with the former players that lit up the Astrodome that Tennessee will never be able to claim.  One of the all-time greats who played every one of his 16 seasons for the Oilers was Elvin Bethea, and even though he set records for the franchise that still stand he was nevertheless surprised when he finally got the call to be enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  As football season continues to move forward, let's take this week to focus on one of the early stars who helped Houston "Luv Ya Blue".

Elvin Bethea called the Astrodome home for 16 seasons

The story of Elvin Bethea began in Trenton, New Jersey, where he was born to James, a factory worker, and Henrietta Bethea.  Elvin was the oldest of nine children, and was originally known by his mother's last name "Carey" because his parents were not yet married after James' time in the military.  It wasn't until the young man was 13 years old that the state finally made the change to his birth certificate, and at that time he was playing a very different kind of "football".  Soccer was the first love of Bethea's life, and he didn't pick up the gridiron version until he was a ninth grade student at Trenton Central High School.  In fact, he was better known for his track and field prowess for much of his time there, as he set a state record as a senior in 1964 with a shot put throw of 66 feet 4.5 inches, a mark that stood for more than three decades until 1997.  The school's head football coach liked Bethea's scrappy tryout, despite the fact that he knew very little about the game, and decided not to add him to the junior varsity squad but instead to put him on the varsity team.  It may have been a gamble, but it paid off.  Once Bethea graduated in 1964, his mother chose North Carolina A&T State University for her eldest son's education, and sent him on his way.

When Elvin Bethea joined the Aggies it was initially as an offensive lineman.  But during his sophomore season, coach Hornsby Howell decided to switch him to the defensive side of the ball and Bethea would never go back.  In addition to becoming a superior pass rusher, he was a solid tackler against running plays as well.  When the 1968 AFL/NFL Draft took place, the second time a common draft took place between the two leagues, Bethea had gained the attention of professional scouts despite the disadvantage at the time of playing at an all-Black college that didn't get significant media exposure.  He was taken in the third round with the 77th pick by the Houston Oilers - a team Bethea didn't even know existed at the time because they had not yet completed their merger into the NFL.  He was one of eight future Hall of Famers taken that year, which is tied for the third most decorated draft in league history.  Despite Bethea gaining recognition with a Pro Bowl selection during his second season, the Oilers themselves were in need of vast improvement, going from a mediocre AFL team during Bethea's first two years to one of the very worst NFL teams as soon as they switched leagues.  Consecutive 1-13 seasons led owner Bud Adams to hire Sid Gillman, who had led the San Diego Chargers to a title decade earlier.  Bethea respected the tough coach who started turning the team around, and then the entire franchise found their stride with the hire of Bum Phillips.  Bethea was in the middle of a five-season stretch where he earned Pro Bowl honors each year, and in his first season under Phillips not only was he named to the 2nd team All Pro team but the Oilers also had their first winning season in the NFL with a 10-4 record.

The Oilers of the late 1970s were cheered by the "Luv Ya Blue" cheer by adoring fans, who came to see established players like Elvin Bethea and new stars like Earl Campbell represent Houston.  Sacks were not officially recorded as a statistic until 1982, but details of games during Bethea's career show that he consistently led the team's pass rush, earning credit for as many as 16 sacks in a single season and a total of 105 during his career.  That is a record that remains untouched in the history of the Oilers (or their future Tennessee version, the Titans).  Many observers, including fellow defensive back Art Shell who was from the same draft class as Bethea, insisted he could have had even better statistics had he played in a system with four linemen and three linebackers, instead of the 3-4 scheme that Phillips ran, perhaps even setting the all-time high for sacks by any player.  After playing in consecutive AFC Championship games with Houston, Bethea reached his final Pro Bowl in 1979, which also happened to be his second All Pro selection, but despite declining production after the departure of Phillips he remained in the league through the 1983 season.  For a number of years he was active in the NFL Players Association, acting as the Oilers player representative and serving on the executive committee.  When Bethea announced his retirement the franchise immediately retired his number 65.  His second career was with Anheuser-Busch, where Bethea worked for 28 years in marketing and government affairs, and today he is vocal with current players about planning ahead for their lives beyond football.  With his first wife, Charlie, Bethea had a son and a daughter named Brittany and Damon, and alongside his current wife Pat he has an additional son named Lamont.  In 2003 Bethea was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and in addition he has been inducted into the Oilers/Titans Ring of Honor (1999), Texas Sports Hall of Fame (2003), North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame (2005), and Black College Football Hall of Fame (2013).  After leaving football, Bethea has been a regular champion of retired players, advocating for better benefits for a number of those who endured physical punishment from the game without the significant pay that modern players enjoy.  Despite being 80 years old Bethea refuses to give up on the cause, showing the same relentless determination that made him one of the great defenders of all time.

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