Running back Matt Snell, who rushed for 121 yards and scored the New York Jets’ lone touchdown in the team’s 16-7 upset victory in Super Bowl III, died Tuesday. He was 84.
Snell’s death, at an assisted living facility in East Meadow, New York, was confirmed by his son, Beau Snell, The New York Times reported.
Snell scored the first touchdown during Super Bowl III, and he was the first running back in the series’ history to rush for more than 100 yards. It was the highlight of his nine-year career in pro football, which was cut short after he tore his right Achilles’ tendon during an October 1970 game, the Times reported.
During Super Bowl III, Snell and fellow running back Emerson Boozer were the Jets’ battering rams on offense. Snell’s 4-yard-run to the left side of the field with 9:34 left in the second quarter gave the Jets, representing the upstart American Football League, a 7-0 lead against the heavily favored Baltimore Colts of the NFL.
Snell rumbled through the Colts’ defense, running a play called “19 Straight,” ESPN reported. He gained his yardage on 30 carries and also had four catches for 40 yards.
While quarterback Joe Namath, who famously “guaranteed” a victory against the Colts, was named the game’s MVP, Snell easily could have won the honor.
Jets left guard Randy Rasmussen told the Times that New York “passed when we had to,” but “ran when we wanted to.”
We're saddened to share Matt Snell, an integral member of our Super Bowl III championship team and Ring-of-Honor inductee, has passed away at age 84
— New York Jets (@nyjets) March 10, 2026
Keeping the Snell family in our thoughts and prayers 💚
The Jets would manage three field goals in the second half, but Snell carried the ball six straight times on the team’s final drive to chew up the clock, picking up 17 yards and a key first down, the Times reported.
Baltimore, which avoided a shutout with a fourth-quarter touchdown, got the ball back with only 10 seconds to play.
The upset was complete. The AFL had lost the first two Super Bowls to the Green Bay Packers, but the league would win one more time during the decade as the Kansas City Chiefs stunned the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV.
The two leagues merged beginning with the 1970 season.
Rest in Peace to Matt Snell who passed away. An all time Jets great who scored the only Super Bowl TD in Jets history. Prayers to his family, friends and teammates. pic.twitter.com/2Hg0Iu8Mz5
— New York Jets History (@nyjetshistory) March 10, 2026
Snell was born in Garfield, Georgia, on Aug. 18, 1941. His family moved to Long Island when he was a child, the Times reported.
Snell played three seasons at Ohio State and was the Jets’ first-round pick in the 1964 AFL draft; he also was a fourth-round pick of the rival New York Giants of the NFL, ESPN reported.
Snell spent his entire career with the Jets, finishing with 4,825 regular-season rushing yards and 24 touchdowns. He also caught seven TD passes.
Snell is still fourth on the Jets’ all-time career rushing list, NBC Sports reported. He trails only Curtis Martin, Freeman McNeil and Boozer.
He was the AFL’s Rookie of the Year in 1964 after rushing for 948 yards and five touchdowns; Snell also caught 56 passes for 393 yards.
In a statement, Jets chairman Woody Johnson called Snell “the embodiment of toughness, selflessness, and belief.”
Chairman Woody Johnson on the passing of Matt Snell pic.twitter.com/OHqGBZRrGW
— New York Jets (@nyjets) March 11, 2026
Snell had a falling out with the Jets after retiring in 1973, reportedly upset because he believed the team had gone back on a promise to give him a job for life, ESPN reported.
The bitterness lingered, and Snell refused to attend his Ring of Honor ceremony in 2015, the sports news outlet reported.
He was inducted with Boozer that day.
“I don’t want anything to do with (the Jets),” Snell told ESPN at the time. “You don’t understand because you’ve never walked in my shoes, OK? Just leave it alone and write your story about Emerson and let him have a good time, let him enjoy himself, OK?”
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