[Deathwatch] Harvey Martin, Former Dallas Cowboy, 51

[Deathwatch Central <cdw@slick.org>]

Ex-Cowboy Martin dies 

Super Bowl XII MVP suffered from pancreatic cancer
Posted: Tuesday December 25, 2001 7:17 PM
Updated: Tuesday December 25, 2001 9:30 PM

GRAPEVINE, Texas (AP) -- Former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Harvey
Martin, once a Super Bowl MVP, died of pancreatic cancer. He was 51. 

Baylor Health Care Center spokeswoman Maureen Porter said Martin died
at 8:24 Monday night at Baylor Medical Center in Grapevine. 

The four-time Pro Bowler starred for the Cowboys in the 1970s and
highlighted his 11-year career by being the co-MVP of the 1978 Super
Bowl with teammate Randy White. Martin is the first Super Bowl MVP to
die. 

Martin underwent major surgery about a year ago and his condition
worsened recently. Porter said Martin's family planned to issue a
statement by Wednesday. 

Martin was one of the Cowboys' most popular players in the 1970s and
early '80s, setting team records with 114 career sacks and 20 in 1977.
That season he was The Associated Press' NFL defensive player of the
year. 

He led the Cowboys in sacks seven times, and former Dallas coach Tom
Landry called Martin the team's best-ever pass-rushing defensive end. 

"He'll be remembered as one of the great Cowboys of the golden years,"
former Cowboys president and general manager Tex Schramm told The
Associated Press on Tuesday night. "He was a great player, one of the
first in the group of the first great pass rushers. He accomplished
more than was anticipated of him." 

Schramm said Martin came into the NFL at a time when defensive ends
weren't expected to get many sacks. 

Martin and defensive ends such as Deacon Jones of the Los Angeles Rams
brought sacks into vogue. That helped convince coaches to turn the
position into more of a pass-rushing threat than a run-stopper. 

Teammates always joked with Martin that he never returned a fumble for
a touchdown and that he was once even tackled by the quarterback. 

'It never happened to me,' Martin said in an interview with The Dallas
Morning News. 'Closest I came was with a fumble. I got tackled by the
quarterback, and everybody laughed at me. Both teams. 

"I killed many a quarterback. I felt like I scored when I took their
head off." 

The Dallas native starred at South Oak Cliff High School and East Texas
State University (now Texas A&M University at Commerce) before the
Cowboys selected him in the third round of the 1973 draft. 

Since retiring in 1984, Martin struggled with substance abuse, domestic
violence and bankruptcy issues. 

In 1996, Martin was jailed on domestic violence and cocaine charges. He
received probation on both charges and was sent to the Dallas County
Judicial Treatment Center. 

He was released after eight months and took a job selling chemical
products. Martin also made anti-drug speeches to children. 

In a July 1998 story in the Morning News, Martin said he had been clean
for nearly two years. 

"I had such a wonderful life before drugs and alcohol abuse," Martin
said. "I've got that life back now and plan to keep it. Maybe I had to
go through what I did to get to this point, to appreciate this life
more." 

Schramm doesn't believe Martin's trouble with drugs will tarnish his
memory. 

"People are accepting of a lot of things today, particularly in that
area," Schramm said. "I think that all the people who remember Harvey
will remember him as the Harvey that was the football player, and not
for the drug thing. 

"He handled it well, for having the problem."
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/news/2001/12/25/martin_obit_a
p/