Curtis Martin

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Curtis James Martin, Jr. (born May 1, 1973 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a former American football running back. He is an alumnus of Taylor Allderdice High School in Pittsburgh and the University of Pittsburgh. Martin played in the National Football League (NFL) for the New England Patriots and the New York Jets. On July 26, 2007 he officially announced his retirement^[1] from the NFL; at the time, he was the fourth leading rusher in NFL history.

[edit] New England Patriots

Martin entered the NFL in 1995, as a third round draft pick of the New England Patriots. Martin won the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award after rushing for 1,487 yards, and was named to the Pro Bowl. The following year, he rushed for a franchise record 166 yards and 3 touchdowns in his first career playoff game against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Patriots went to Super Bowl XXXI, but lost to the Green Bay Packers. Martin rushed for 42 yards, caught 3 passes for 28 yards, and scored a touchdown in the game. Though he was much less effective in 1996 than he was in his rookie season, Martin was again named to the Pro Bowl squad.

[edit] New York Jets

After the 1997 season, Martin, a restricted free agent, signed an offer sheet with the New York Jets^[2] for $36 million over six years. The Patriots did not match the Jets' offer and received first- and third-round draft picks as compensation. Thus, Martin went to the Jets, and was reunited his former Patriot coach Bill Parcells. In his first seven seasons with the Jets, Martin missed only one game, in Week 6 of the 1998 season, and was selected to the Pro Bowl three more times. In 1998, Martin gained 182 yards from scrimmage and scored two touchdowns against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a Jets playoff win. Martin won the NFL rushing title in the 2004 NFL season with 1,697 yards (one more than runner-up Shaun Alexander, the closest margin in NFL history). He also won the FedEx Ground Player of the Year Award in 2004.

In 2005 Martin failed in his quest to become the first running back in NFL history to start his career with eleven straight 1,000 rushing yard seasons. He missed the December 11th game versus the Oakland Raiders with a knee injury and was placed on injured reserve for the final three games of the season. Martin finished with 735 rushing yards, for a career total of 14,101 rushing yards. Martin began the 2006 campaign on the Physically Unable to Perform list due to complications from the injury. On November 1, 2006, it was announced he would miss the rest of the regular season with a bone-on-bone condition in his right knee. Martin officially announced his retirement on July 26, 2007. He will be eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011.

[edit] Accomplishments

Martin rushed for over 1,000 yards in his first 10 professional seasons, a feat previously accomplished only by Barry Sanders. On November 6, 2005, he scored his 100th career touchdown, joining an elite group of only 16 players to do so. Martin is currently 4th on the all-time rushing yardage list, and on November 27, 2005, in the first quarter against the New Orleans Saints, he became the 4th running back in NFL history, behind Emmitt Smith, Walter Payton, and Barry Sanders, to pass the 14,000-yard rushing mark. He is the all-time Jets leader with 10,302 rushing yards with the team^[3]. He is also fourth in the same category for the Patriots with 3799 yards^[4]. Additionally, Martin happens to have a 'perfect' passer rating of 158.3: 2 completions on 2 pass attempts, 2 TD passes, and an average of 18.0 yards per attempt.

[edit] Career statistical rankings

• 3,518 career rushing attempts (3rd all-time)
• 14,101 career rushing yards (4th all-time)
• 17,430 career yards from scrimmage (7th all-time)
• 90 career rushing touchdowns (12th all-time)
• 100 career rushing/receiving touchdowns (19th all-time)

[edit] Personal

Martin is often spotted courtside at New York Knicks games and attends shows at New York movie premieres. He made Esquire Magazine's best-dressed list in 2004. In earlier years, he was linked romantically to singer Toni Braxton, an outdated fact he later asked the Jets to remove from his media-guide biography (along with a child to whom he was a godfather, not father). He has been linked until recently with Shakara Ledard and Destiny's Child member Michelle Williams, a fellow devout Christian^[5] ]]. He resides in Garden City, New York. Chris Berman from ESPN gave him the nickname Curtis "My Favorite" Martin, a play on words from the 60's television show My Favorite Martian. As of summer 2007, he also is pursuing ownership of an NFL team.

[edit] Career Rushing Statistics

[edit] Notes and references

[edit] External links

• ESPN.com Curtis Martin Profile
• CBS Sportsline Curtis Martin Profile
• CNN/SI Curtis Martin Profile
• Curtis Martin at Pro Football Reference