Houston’s All-Time Team: Elvin Bethea 
Elvin Bethea
Position: Defensive End
Team: Houston Oilers
Years: 1968-1983
Career: Few noticed when the Houston Oilers selected an offensive lineman with their third round choice in the 1968 draft. It tuned out to be one of the best draft choices in franchise history.
Elvin Bethea was a two-time All-NAIA lineman for tiny North Carolina A&T. At 6’3", Bethea was slated to be a guard in the pro game. However, a rash of injuries on the defensive line caused Oiler Head Coach Wally Lemm to try Bethea at defensive end. By mid-season, Bethea was starting. It would be his home for the next 15 years.
In 1969, Bethea led the team in the still unofficial category of "quarterback tackles" (now known as sacks), helping Houston to a .500 record and a berth in the AFL playoffs. He played in the last AFL All-Star Game.
For years, the gap-toothed lineman might have thought this was the high-water mark of his career. In the early 1970s, the Oilers were seen in public as often as Howard Hughes. Some of Elvin’s best games were played before sparse crowds and limited television audiences. Bethea was one of the few bright spots on some downright awful teams. In 1973, he compiled 17 sacks for the 1-13 Oilers. He made the Pro Bowl in five of his first six NFL seasons.
Elvin had a gift for shedding blockers and bringing down ball-carriers. He wasn’t the tallest, biggest, strongest or fastest player. What he had was a relentless desire to play his best. When Curley Culp came to the Oilers in 1974 and the team switched to a 3-4 defensive scheme, Bethea didn’t miss a beat. He even notched the first touchdown of his NFL career.
The New Jersey native grew into the role of elder statesman as Bum Phillips breathed new life into the ballclub. Bethea played in 135 consecutive Oiler games until he broke his arm against Oakland in 1977.
"I deserve a medal for being here that long," he’d quipped that summer.
What he got was something better – a chance to play again in the playoffs. Bethea and Culp anchored the defense as Houston reached the AFC Championship game in 1978 and 1979. Even as they trailed the Steelers late in a 34-5 AFC Championship loss at Pittsburgh, the two veterans refused to come out of the game.
"We tried to get them off (the field) because I wanted to play some of the younger kids," said Phillips later. "Nope, by God, they wanted to stay. I’m proud of that."
Bethea would return to the Pro Bowl in 1978, 1979 and 1980, making eight total appearances in Hawaii. Including the AFL, Bethea played in a team record tying nine All-Star competitions.
As players came and went, Bethea was the one constant. No player in franchise history was an Oiler longer than Bethea, who toiled for 16 seasons before retiring in 1983. His 210 career sacks place him first in franchise history, while his 1973 total of 17 remains the single-season standard. He led the team in sacks six times, and the Oilers honored him in 1983 by retiring his jersey, one of only four players to have received that honor.
Houston Highlight: In week two of the 1981 season, the 35-year-old Bethea blocked two field goal attempts to help Houston to a tight 9-3 victory over the defending division-champion Cleveland Browns. The Oilers would not win another game on the road for two years.
Elvin Bethea 
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