Top 50 Cal Pros: No. 40 -- Matt Hazeltine Was a Steady Star for 49ers

The linebacker played 14 of his 15 NFL seasons with San Francisco, starting 185 games

Matt Hazeltine / Topps

We are counting down Cal’s top 50 athletes based on their careers as post-collegiate professionals. Their performance as Golden Bears is not factored into the rankings.

40. MATT HAZELTINE

Years at Cal: 1951 to 1954

Sport: Football

Pro teams: San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants

Age: Died at the age of 53 from ALS in 1987

Hometown: Ross, Calif. 

Why we ranked him here: A fourth-round pick by the 49ers in the 1955 NFL draft, the 6-foot-1, 220-pound played exclusively at outside linebacker over his 15-year NFL career after starring on the offensive line at Cal. Hazeltine played his first 14 seasons with the 49ers, earning Pro Bowl and second-team All-Pro honors in 1962 and ’64. He started 185 games with the 49ers and missed just one game his first 10 seasons. Hazeltine finished his NFL career with 39 sacks, 18 fumble recoveries and 13 interceptions. He scored three touchdowns in the NFL, two of them on fumble returns, the other after an interception. After his death in 1987, the 49ers created the Matt Hazeltine Award, honoring the team’s most courageous and inspirational defensive player. Hazeltine is among at least four ex-49ers players who died from ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease, with Dwight Clark, Gary Lewis and Bob Waters taken by the same incurable condition.

Matt Hazeltine / Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics

At Cal: Because of the Korean War, freshmen were eligible in 1951 when Hazeltine arrived on campus in the fall of 1951, but he played sparingly much of the season. In the final week of the season, an injury to a starter forced Hazeltine into action at center and he held the position throughout his days at Cal. He played center and linebacker for the Bears, and was a first-team All-Pacific Coast Conference and All-America honoree at center as both a junior and senior. He had 10 career interceptions with the Bears. Hazeltine was inducted into the Cal Athletic Hall of Fame in 1988 and the College Football Hall of Fame a year later. His father, Matt Hazeltine Sr., played rugby and football at Cal.

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