A Hall-of-Fame third baseman who played with the Braves in Boston, Milwaukee and Atlanta, Mathews played in 101 games with the 1967 Astros. He hit .238 with 10 homers before he was traded to the contending Detroit Tigers where his big league career came to a close.

For his playing career, the popular slugger hit .271 with 512 homers and 1453 RBIs. He was a 12-time All-Star who led the league in homers twice during his career. He later managed the Braves to a 149-161 record in three seasons. He was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame by baseball writers in 1978.

The Texarkana native passed away in La Jolla, CA on February 18, 2001 at age 69 from pnuemonia.