Charles Mathon, (Oyonnax, 1 December 1905 – assassinated during the World War II in Druillat, 9 June 1944), is a rugby union and an international rugby league player in the 1920s and 1930s.
Kid of Oyonnax, He discovered the rugby union and played for C.S. Oyonnax. During ten years, he was the scrum half of this club alongside his captain Georges Ofidan. He settled into their half-backs with the latter from the age of 17 and took an active part in the success of the club which he led to integrate the elite of the French Rugby Union Championship at the end of the 1920s. He tried a single season at U.S. Bressane before returning to C.S. Oyonnax and closed his chapter in rugby union in 1934. Often cited in the preselections, he never knew the international cape in the France team.
Approached by Jean Galia in March 1934, who launched the rugby league code in France, Charles Mathon denounced the fake amateurism that raged in the world of rugby union and which he himself was confronted with. He then decided to join the inaugural tour of the French rugby league selection in England called "Les Pionniers" and took part in the first official meeting of the French team in April 1934. He joined the newly created club, the U.S. Lyon-Villeurbanne, for two seasons, of which he took the captaincy and with which he won the Coupe de France in 1935. He retired from sport in 1936.
During the World War II, he joined the Resistance and consolidated an active network. He was assassinated in June 1944 in troubling circumstances against a backdrop of quarrels between resistance groups. The town of Oyonnax named its rugby stadium in his memory, Stade Charles-Mathon, at the end of the war. Oyonnax Rugby still plays there today.
Biography
Childhood, youth and rugby union star at C.S. Oyonnax
Charles Mathon was born in Oyonnax, nicknamed the « Museum of the Comb ». He's the son of Charles Mathon (1879-?), worker in the manufacture of comb, and Marie Morel (1883-1935), housewife. He married for the first time the with Gabrielle Alliata (1907-1928), commercial employee, then a second time the with Marcelle Besson (1910-1995), also commercial employee.
1923-1930 : Charles Mathon makes his career in rugby union at CS Oyonnax which he takes to the French championship and is very close to the French team
Charles Mathon grew up in the town of Oyonnax and devoted from an early age to rugby union. He thus joined the city's flagship club: the red devils of CS Oyonnax. He made his debut at the age of seventeen as a scrum half following the injury of Gilbert Augon, the usual holder of this position. His debut was promising and Mathon quickly became a starter for this club, it is a good club in the Lyonnais Championship with the C.S. Vienne. From the year 1923-1924, he made up the hinge of this team with his captain and opening half Georges Orfidan. The CS Oyonnax in these years fight for integrate the French Championship.
During the 1924-1925 season, before celebrating his twenties, he took the role of captaincy of CS Oyonnax from G. Orfidan and now successfully organized the game around him despite not qualifying to compete in the French Championship. That year, he made his debut in occasional selections, for example one called the Haut-Jura selection bringing together the best players from the FC Saint-Claude, CS Vienne, including Jean Etcheberry and CS Oyonnax to face English club Cambridge University.
The following year, in March 1926, he was called up to join the French army team while he was serving in the 47th artillery regiment, where he met Joseph Pascot, Yves du Manoir and Raoul Bonamy and he make a game noticed by observers despite the defeat against their English counterparts. In May 1926, he made the tour of the French army team in Romania where he also distinguished himself and was cited as one of the best players. He also joins the Lyonnais selection in end-of-season made up of the best players from Saint-Claude, CS Bourgoin-Jallieu, Lyon O.U., Vienne and FC Lyon, whose captain is J. Etcheberry. Following these meetings, C. Mathon was approached by many clubs to recruit him, first of all the Parisian club Stade français which entered into discussions with the player but Mathon didn't give follow-up, as well as the Stade dijonnais.