Contributor Bio
Honorary
Elizabeth A. Mattison
Class of Athlete Year
Despite never playing an inning or quarter for Concord High School, Betty Mattison is widely
recognized as one of the most generous benefactors of CHS and local youth sports.
A native of Brookline, MA, Betty attended the prestigious Winsor School in Boston, where she
was a standout field hockey, basketball and softball player and was named the best athlete in the
class of 1933. Betty then attended Bennington College in Vermont, where she was a field hockey
letterwinner before getting married to William Mattison and moving to their 400-acre dairy farm
near Williams Road and ORNAC in 1935. The Mattison’s would raise six children on Arrowhead
Farm – Jack, Brad, Polly, Roger, Rick and Martha, and two of the children continue to live on the
land almost 70 years later.
Betty’s involvement with youth sports in Concord was far-reaching. From buying uniforms for the
teams at Peter Bulkeley School to hosting breakfasts before Saturday games for the CHS football
squad, Betty’s beneficence was legendary around town. In typical style, everything was done
quietly and without fanfare, and son Jack remembers writing a letter to an “Anonymous donor”
who had supported his football team, only to find out 30 years later the donor was none other than
his mother Betty.
Betty’s first love was baseball, and she is best known as one of the founders and prime supporters
of Concord youth baseball program. In the early 50’s, Betty founded a 4H baseball league to give
locals kids a chance to work on the skills during the summer. Betty was a one-woman show:
coaching, arranging transportation in the back of her 1935 Ford stake body truck and raising funds
in support of the team. She and Hall of Famer Barry Higgins often matched wits during summer
games, with Higgins coaching the West Concord squad against Betty’s Sabre Jets. She later joined
forces with Bob Cousins of Littleton to form the Middlesex County Junior Baseball League, and
Mattison’s team featured Hall of Famer Dave Bouchard, quickly became a force which fed the
great CHS baseball teams of that era. Mattison was also instrumental in supporting the Concord
Yankees (later Arrowhead Baseball Club) during the 1970’s.
“We used to stop at Kimball’s in Littleton after baseball games,” said Jack. “If we won, you didn’t
need money because Betty always paid. But if we lost, you always had to get your wallet out. Of
course, if you didn’t have any money, she always took care of you. She was always taking care of
people and creating athletic opportunities for the kids of Concord.”
As the years went by, Betty was a regular fixture at CHS/CCHS baseball and football games,
diligently recording every down and pitch on her 16 millimeter camera. An avid golfer, Betty was
a charter member of Nashawtuc Country Club and won numerous tournaments there, including a
Grandmother’s tournament shortly before she passed away in 1982. Betty’s granddaughter
Bethany ’91 helped the CCHS soccer and tennis teams win state titles while grandson Bill ’77
excelled as a lacrosse player, Jon ’90 was a football and hockey captain and Scott ’96 was a
baseball standout.