Former CHS and
Indiana University athlete John R. “Jay” Mathias passed away May 29, 2018,
at age 69 in Athens, Georgia, after a lengthy illness.
A three-sport star
in high school, Jay was a first team all-state and all-conference
quarterback on the 1965 Trojan team that won the first conference
championship in CHS football history in the old Calumet Conference. He was
also named to Parade’s All-America High School Team that year. Jay
also excelled in track and field and was a state finalist in his junior and
senior years in the high jump. He was also an outstanding basketball player
for the Trojans, and earned a total of 11 varsity letters during his high
school athletic career.
He received a
scholarship from IU where he played on the Hoosier team that won the Big 10
championship and appeared in the 1968 Rose Bowl against a University of
Southern California squad that included O.J. Simpson. In his senior year at
IU he set a school record for the most interceptions in a season and
finished second in tackles.
In 2015 Jay was
inducted into the Indiana High School Football Hall of Fame.
He had a very
successful career in media sales and development and last served as CEO of
Infiset, a data gathering and analysis company which he founded.
He was born
September 13, 1948, in Michigan City to John and Mary (Callahan) Mathias,
who preceded him in death.
He is survived by
sons Matthew (Molly), Michael (Debbie), and Nicholas (Jenny), a daughter
Natalie, his brother Bruce (Cindy), sisters Martha Mathias and Marie Mathias
Busch, and grandchildren Conner, Sam, Nixon and Rio Mathias.
His remains were
laid to rest in Fort Myers, Florida.