NCAT's Bethea has Aggies jersey retired

Photo: Pro Football Hall of Famer Elvin Bethea

GREENSBORO – At a banquet honoring four Aggie coaching legends, the North Carolina A&T department of athletics announced the retiring of NFL Hall of Fame defensive lineman Elvin Bethea’s No. 75 Aggies jersey. The jersey will officially be retired after the season because starting Aggies center Tim Bess currently wears the jersey number.

Bethea becomes the first Aggie player to have his number retired based on performance. Number 6 is retired based on special tribute. Bethea played four seasons (1964-67) at N.C. A&T, where he was a two-time NAIA first-team offensive lineman selection. . As an Aggie football player, Bethea was versatile on the football field having the ability to play multiple positions – guard and tackle, defensive end and linebacker. Bethea was also an All-American in track and field in the shot put and discuss. In 1968, the Houston Oilers selected him in the third round.

An eight-time Pro Bowl selection, Bethea played in 210 games during his 16-year career in Houston. He was named first- or second-team All-AFL/AFC six times and second-team All-Pro four times. Considered a leader both on and off the field, Bethea was durable and dependable. He started at defensive end in the 1968 season opener and didn’t miss a game until breaking his arm in a game against the Oakland Raiders on November 13, 1977.

When he retired – which was put off by a year per the Oilers’ request – he held three team records relating to career service: most seasons (16), most career regular season games played (210), and most consecutive regular season games played (135). He also saw action in eight Oilers playoff games. Bethea was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003. His former head coach Hornsby Howell did the introduction speech.

At 6-foot-3, 265 pounds, Bethea was slated to be a guard in the pro game. However, a rash of injuries on the defensive line caused Oilers Head Coach Wally Lemm to try Bethea at defensive end. By mid-season, Bethea was starting.

“I remember they brought me in as an offensive lineman, and I knew the guy playing in front of me couldn’t have survived one Hornsby Howell practice,’’ said Bethea at the banquet. “But he was from a big school, so he was going to play even though I knew I was better. When they asked me about three games into the season if I wanted to play defensive line, I jumped at the chance. As an Aggie, they taught me how to take every opportunity and make the best of it. And that’s what I did.”

Although sacks were not an official National Football League statistic until 1982, Elvin’s unofficial 105-career quarterback sack total still ranks as the best in Oilers/Tennessee Titans history as are the 16 sacks he recorded in 1973. Six times he led his team in that department. His best single game performance as a pass rusher came in a game against the San Diego Chargers in 1976 in which he recorded 4 sacks and one fumble recovery.

More than just a pass rusher, Bethea was also effective against the run. Even though 1974 was the first year such statistics were compiled by the Oilers, his 691-career tackles, are still among the best in franchise history, even excluding the first six years of his career.

Bethea retired from Anheuser-Busch’s Houston, Texas office where he served as director of government affairs and is now a traveling ambassador for the NFL Hall of Fame.

The banquet, also designed to raise money for athletic scholarships, served to honor former football coaches Bill Hayes and Howell and former men’s basketball coaches Cal Irvin and Don Corbett. Bethea was the keynote speaker.