Matthew Reed is a former professional gridiron football

Gridiron football

Gridiron football , sometimes known as North American football, is an umbrella term for related codes of football primarily played in the United States and Canada. The predominant forms of gridiron football are American football and Canadian football...

 player, starring at quarterback

Quarterback

Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...

 in the World Football League

World Football League

The World Football League was a short-lived gridiron football league that played in 1974 and part of 1975. Although the league's proclaimed ambition was to bring American football onto a worldwide stage, the farthest the WFL reached was placing a team – the Hawaiians – in Honolulu, Hawaii. The...

 (WFL) and the Canadian Football League

Canadian Football League

The Canadian Football League or CFL is a professional sports league located in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football, a form of gridiron football closely related to American football....

 (CFL).

A graduate of Grambling State University

Grambling State University

Grambling State University is a historically black , public, coeducational university, located in Grambling, Louisiana. The university is the home of legendary football coach Eddie Robinson and is on the Louisiana African American Heritage Trail.-Academics:Grambling State University provides over...

, Reed was a 10th round selection (240th overall pick) of the Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in the 1973 NFL Draft

1973 NFL Draft

The 1973 National Football League Draft was held on January 30–31, 1973.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...

 but did not play in the league. Reed began his pro career with the Birmingham Americans

Birmingham Americans

The Birmingham Americans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the four-team Central Division of the World Football League . The Americans, founded in late December 1973, played in the upstart league's inaugural season in 1974...

 of the WFL. In 1974 he backed up George Mira

George Mira

George Ignacio Mira is a former professional American football player. A quarterback drafted in the second round of the 1964 NFL Draft from the University of Miami, Mira played in eight NFL seasons from 1964-1971 for three different teams...

, completing 77 of 188 passes (41%) for 1345 yards and 11 TDs

Touchdown

A touchdown is a means of scoring in American and Canadian football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone.-Description:...

 and 12 interceptions

Interception (football)

An interception, intercept or pick is a move in many forms of football, including Canadian and American football, as well as rugby league, rugby union, Australian rules football and Gaelic football, which involves a pass, either by foot or hand, being caught by an opposition player, who usually...

. He was part of their championship team. In 1975 he became starter

Starting lineup

A starting lineup in sports is an official list of the set of players who will actively participate in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes or bench players.The starters are commonly the best...

 of the newly renamed Birmingham Vulcans

Birmingham Vulcans

The Birmingham Vulcans were a professional American football team located in Birmingham, Alabama. They were members of the five-team Eastern Division of the World Football League . The Vulcans, founded in March 1975, played in the upstart league's second and final season in 1975...

, but had a poor year, completing only 38.9% of his 208 passes, for 1252 yards and only 4 TDs and 11 interceptions. He did rush for 347 yards and 6 TDs. In the WFL's short history, Reed manage to be the league's 10th leading passer (in yards).

Reed later played 3 years in the CFL, all as a back-up QB. He played 18 games for the Toronto Argonauts

Toronto Argonauts

The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...

 in 1976 and 1977, and finished his pro career with the Calgary Stampeders

Calgary Stampeders

The Calgary Stampeders are a Canadian Football League team based in Calgary, Alberta and named in reference to the Calgary Stampede. The Stampeders play their home games at McMahon Stadium...

 in 1977 and 1978.

While with the Argonauts, Reed backed up CFL star Chuck Ealey

Chuck Ealey

Charles "Chuck" Ealey is a former football player for Notre Dame High School, University of Toledo, and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.-High school and college years:...

. As noted in the Toronto sports press, this was the first time in professional football that a team had a tandem of black, or afro-American, quarterbacks running a team.