Harvey Martin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Harvey Martin (born November 16, 1950 in Dallas, Texas; died December 24, 2001) was a defensive end for the Dallas Cowboys from 1973 until 1983. He started playing football in high school, only because he overheard his father tell his mother that he was ashamed that his son didn't play like his friends' kids. He eventually starred at South Oak Cliff High School and East Texas State University before being drafted in the third round of the 1973 NFL draft.

As part of the famed Doomsday Defense, "The Beautiful" aka "Too Mean" led the Cowboys in sacks seven times. Martin went to the Pro Bowl four times and was Super Bowl MVP in Super Bowl XII. He still holds team records for most sacks as a rookie (9), in a season (23), and career (113). Former Cowboys GM Tex Schramm stated "He'll be remembered as one of the great Cowboys of the golden years ... He was a great player, one of the first great pass rushers."

Following his retirement in 1984, Martin participated in the battle royal at Wrestlemania II (1986) for the World Wrestling Federation, and appeared several times in World Class Championship Wrestling and the Global Wrestling Federation as a ringside commentator.

With football gone, many inner demons came to light, including bankruptcies, domestic violence, and polysubstance abuse. Although coach Tom Landry sent him to rehab in 1983, Martin continued to abuse drugs and alcohol. He hit rock-bottom in 1996, when "Too Mean" was jailed on domestic violence and cocaine charges, where he received probation and spent the next eight months in a court-ordered rehabilitation program.

Afterwards, he was given a job selling chemical products by former teammate and Cowboys offensive lineman John Niland. He was able to turn his life around, staying clean and sober for the final years of his life, giving anti-drug speeches to both schoolchildren and recovering addicts.

Martin died of pancreatic cancer on December 24, 2001 at the age of 51.