Harvey Martin

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Martin transferred to South Oak Cliff High School in his junior year (1967), the first integrated high school in Dallas. He first played football after overhearing his father express shame that his son did not play like his friends' children. As a senior, he moved to defensive tackle and became the best lineman on a 12–1 team that won the Dallas City championship and reached the state quarterfinals. Only East Texas State University offered him a scholarship. In college, he evolved into the best defensive end in school history, leading the school to a national title in 1972 and earning NAIA All-American, All-Texas, and All-LSC honors. He was inducted into Texas A&M University–Commerce's Hall of Fame in 1987. The school started hosting the Harvey Martin Classic in 2008. In 2007, he was selected to the Lone Star Conference’s 75th Anniversary football team and named LSC defensive player of the decade for the 1970s. In 2010, he was inducted into the Lone Star Conference Hall of Fame. Martin was selected by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round of the 1973 NFL draft. He was nicknamed 'Too Mean' and became a full-time starter by 1975. He is unofficially credited with 114 sacks, leading the Cowboys in sacks seven times in a nine-year period, with a high of 23 sacks in 1977. He still holds the team record for most sacks for a rookie (9 in 1973) and in a season (23 in 1977). His unofficial career franchise sack record lasted 30 years, broken by DeMarcus Ware in 2013. In 1977, he totaled 85 tackles and a league-leading 23 sacks, was named NFL Defensive Player of the Year, a consensus All-Pro, a key player in the Cowboys winning Super Bowl XII, and co-MVP of the game with Randy White. He went to the Pro Bowl four times. He retired in 1983 after refusing a Cowboys-ordered drug test and during a feud with the team. He later admitted in a 1986 autobiography that he had a cocaine addiction. In 2009, he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame. The Professional Football Researchers Association named him to the PFRA Hall of Very Good Class of 2016. After retirement, he briefly served as an NFL analyst for NBC, participated in the battle royal at WrestleMania 2 (1986), and appeared in World Class Championship Wrestling and the Global Wrestling Federation as a ringside commentator. He faced bankruptcies, domesti

In Their Own Story

The humid air hung heavy over Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium on a crisp autumn afternoon. Fans packed the bleachers, eyes fixed on the line of scrimmage where Harvey Martin stood opposite the Falcons' tackle. The crowd roared as the snap count came in, but Martin's explosion off the line was immediate. He drove through the gap, forcing a hurried throw that sailed into the Georgia sky—a moment etched in the memory of those who watched history unfold on that turf.

Reader's Guide

Harvey Martin played his entire NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys from 1973 to 1983. He was a defensive end and a key member of the Doomsday Defense. He was co-MVP of Super Bowl XII. He is not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Did You Know?

• Martin is unofficially credited with 23 sacks in 1977, a Cowboys team record.
• He was the first Super Bowl Most Valuable Player to die.
• He never played a home game at any level outside of North Texas.
• He participated in the battle royal at WrestleMania 2 in 1986.