Don Matthews
| Sport(s) | Gridiron football |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
June 22, 1939 Amesbury, Massachusetts |
| Playing career | |
| 1960–1963 | Idaho |
| Position(s) | Linebacker |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1964 | Idaho (GA) |
| 1965 | Ely (NV) HS (assistant) |
| 1966–1968 | Ely (NV) HS |
| 1969–1970 | Spokane (WA) Ferris HS |
| 1971–1972 | Idaho (OL) |
| 1973 | Idaho (OC) |
| 1974–1976 | Beaverton (OR) Sunset HS |
| 1977 | Edmonton Eskimos (LB) |
| 1978–1982 | Edmonton Eskimos (DC) |
| 1983–1987 | BC Lions |
| 1989 | Edmonton Eskimos (DC) |
| 1990 | Toronto Argonauts |
| 1991 | Orlando Thunder |
| 1991–1993 | Sask. Roughriders |
| 1994–1995 | Baltimore Stallions |
| 1996–1998 | Toronto Argonauts |
| 1999–2000 | Edmonton Eskimos |
| 2002–2006 | Montreal Alouettes |
| 2008 | Toronto Argonauts |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 231–132–1 (CFL) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Grey Cups (5): 73rd, 83rd, 84th, 85th, 90th | |
| Awards | |
| Records | |
| 2nd highest win total by CFL coach | |
Don Matthews, a.k.a. "The Don", (born June 22, 1939) is a former head coach of several teams in the Canadian Football League (CFL). He won 231 games in the CFL, the second highest win total by a head coach in the league's history. He was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in September 2011.
Matthews was born in Amesbury, Massachusetts, the son of Canadian-born parents, Ida (Babin), from Tracadie, New Brunswick, and Fred Matthews, who worked at a steel mill, and was from Prince Edward Island. From a large family of limited means and education, Matthews quit high school in Amesbury after his senior season of football in 1956 and served three years in the U.S. Marine Corps. He returned home and earned his high school diploma and then on the advice of a teacher, ventured west in 1960 as a 21-year-old freshman to Moscow, Idaho. He walked-on at Idaho as a linebacker on the freshman team; he was awarded a scholarship by varsity head coach Skip Stahley after his first semester. He earned three letters and was a team captain in his senior season of 1963, when the Vandals, in their second year under Dee Andros, achieved their first winning season in a quarter century. Matthews graduated from the University of Idaho with a degree in education in 1964.
Matthews was a graduate assistant for the Vandals in Moscow for the 1964 season under Andros and freshman coach Bud Riley. Matthews then coached high school football in Ely, Nevada for four years and won a state title. He relocated to eastern Washington at Spokane in 1969 as head coach at Ferris, where he led the Saxons to the city title in his second and final year.
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