Bruce Matthews

His father was a defensive lineman for the San Francisco 49ers in the 1950s.

The Matthews family moved to Arcadia, California, when Bruce was young.

He played football at Arcadia High School in Arcadia, California and was an immediate football standout on the offensive and defensive line, along with doing well in high school wrestling.

Bruce Rankin Matthews (born August 8, 1961) is an American former professional football player who played as a guard, center, offensive tackle, and long snapper in the National Football League (NFL) for 19 seasons, from 1983 to 2001.

He spent his entire career playing for the Houston / Tennessee Oilers / Titans franchise.

Highly versatile, Matthews played every position on the offensive line throughout his NFL career, starting in 99 games as a left guard, 87 as a center, 67 as a right guard, 22 as a right tackle, 17 as a left tackle, and was the long snapper on field goals, PATs, and punts.

Having never missed a game due to injury, Matthews' 293 NFL games started is the third most of all time, behind quarterbacks Brett Favre and Tom Brady.

Matthews played college football for the University of Southern California, where he was recognized as a consensus All-American for the USC Trojans football team as a senior.

As a junior in 1977, Matthews was named to the All-California Interscholastic Federation third-team, and as a senior, he played in the Shrine All-Star Football Classic alongside John Elway.

Arcadia High later retired Matthews’ No. 72 jersey.

Matthews attended the University of Southern California, where he played all offensive line positions at various times for the USC Trojans football team.

As a senior in 1982, Matthews was shifted from weakside to strongside guard to replace departing Roy Foster as the principal blocker in the "Student Body Right" play.

Matthews was named to the first-team All-Pacific-10 Conference team after his junior and senior seasons.

As a senior, Matthews earned consensus All-America honors and won the Morris Trophy, which is awarded to the best lineman in the conference.

Matthews is considered to be one of the most versatile offensive linemen to play in the NFL.

He started in 99 games as a left guard, 67 as a right guard, 87 as a center, 22 as a right tackle, 17 as a left tackle, and was the snapper on field goals, PATs, and punts.

Matthews was selected to 14 Pro Bowls, which at the time tied a league record set by Merlin Olsen.

Matthews was also named a first-team All-Pro nine times and an All-American Football Conference selection 12 times.

Matthews was selected in the first round of the 1983 NFL draft by the Oilers and was a 14-time Pro Bowl selection, tied for the second-most in NFL history, and a nine-time first-team All-Pro.

Matthews is the only player who played against the Baltimore Colts in their last game at Memorial Stadium in 1983 and against the Baltimore Ravens in their last game at Memorial Stadium in 1997.

The Houston Oilers drafted Matthews with the ninth overall pick in the first round of the 1983 NFL draft.

During his first two seasons, Matthews blocked for future Hall of Fame running back Earl Campbell.

As a rookie, Matthews played guard and was named to the PFWA All-Rookie Team.

Before his second season, Matthews was moved from right guard to center, snapping to rookie quarterback Warren Moon.

However, Matthews played multiple positions that season due to injuries on the offensive line; at one point he played center, guard, and tackle in successive weeks.

In 1985 and 1986, Matthews alternated between right and left tackle.

Matthews sat out of the first eight games of the 1987 season due to a contract dispute.

When he returned, Matthews was moved back to right guard.

The holes Matthews opened up helped running back Mike Rozier to consecutive Pro Bowls in 1987 and 1988.

He remained at the right guard position in 1988, 1989, and 1990, being named to the Pro Bowl each season.

Matthews also earned first-team All-Pro recognition each year from the Associated Press (AP), Pro Football Weekly, and The Sporting News.

He thrived in the run and shoot offensive scheme adopted by the Oilers around this time, which required linemen to be exceptionally agile.

The Oilers placed Matthews at center for the final game of the 1990 season in an effort to bolster the team's running game.

Of the move, Matthews said, "I'd like to stay at guard, but forces greater than myself make these adjustments."

An extremely durable player, Matthews retired after the 2001 season having played more games (296) than any NFL player, excluding kickers and punters, and played in more seasons (19) than any offensive lineman.

He never missed a game due to injury, and started 229 consecutive games.

Matthews was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2007, and his number 74 jersey is retired by the Titans.

After retiring as a player, Matthews served as an assistant coach for the Houston Texans and Titans.

A member of the Matthews family of football players, he is the brother of linebacker Clay Matthews Jr..; father of center Kevin Matthews and tackle Jake Matthews; and uncle of linebacker Clay Matthews III and linebacker Casey Matthews.

Bruce Rankin Matthews was born in Raleigh, North Carolina, to Clay Matthews Sr.. and Daisy Matthews.