ELVIN BETHEA
- mercertrackhall
- Sep 22, 2025
- 1 min read
Updated: Nov 24, 2025
Trenton Central High School 1964 -- Thrower
A 1964 graduate of Trenton High, Elvin "The Bear" Bethea not only played football in the NFL for16 seasons, he was also a phenomenal thrower during his high school years.
From 1962 to 1964 Bethea won three straight shot put state titles for Group IV. In the 1964 state meet he was a double champion as he also won the state crown for the discus.
Bethea was county champion in the shot and disc in 1964 and he held the county record in both throws until the 1990s. He had personal bests in the shot put of 66ft 4 1/2 inches, and 185ft 8 1/2 inches in the discus.
Perhaps his greatest achievement in track and field was putting the winning shot and tossing the winning discus at the 1964 Golden West Invitational--the national high school championship of his era.
Bethea attended college at North Carolina A&T, and then he played pro football as an offensive lineman with the Houston Oilers from 1968 to 1983.
In 2003 Bethea was elected into the National Football Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame (2005).
MAJOR TITLES
2x Golden West Champion - Shot Put & Discus 1964
4x State Champion Group IV - Shot Put 1962, '63, '64 & Discus 1964
2x Mercer County Champion - Shot Put & Discus 1964
