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Former Lion Martin remembered

by Louis Margot III
(BS ’67, MS ’71)

He was “Too Mean,” and he was “too nice.”
The Beautiful Harvey Martin was more Dallas sports talk show. “Beautiful” described his wit, his sincerity and his love for Dallas South Oak Cliff High School, East Texas State University and the Dallas Cowboys.The former All-Pro defensive end died Christmas Eve 2001 of pancreatic cancer. He was 51.To sports writers across the country, he might be considered “America’s Cowboy.”
In almost four pages of the coverage of his death, The Dallas Morning News remembered him as “a Dallas Cowboy legend whose aggressiveness earned him the title ‘Too Mean.’”
A New Orleans Times-Picayune columnist wrote, “On a team full of celebrities, Martin was the toast of the town.” He was paid similar tributes throughout the nation, from The New York Times to The Greenville (Texas) Herald Banner.

Harvey with Louis and Louis' son, Robert (Matt) Margot in 1987 when HArvey was inducted into the Hall of Fame

Martin’s 11-year career in the NFL was one of the best-team career record for quarterback sacks (113), team season record for sacks (20), four Pro Bowls, co-MVP of the 1978 Super Bowl with teammate Randy White, 1977 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, a member of the NFL All-Decade Team of the ‘70s and three Super Bowl appearances, including the 1978 championship.
As a member of the 1972 ETSU NAIA national championship team, he won NAIA, Football News and Associated Press All-America recognition. Twice All-Lone Star Conference, he was named the LSC’s Defensive Player of the Decade for the ‘70s. He was inducted into the ETSU Hall of Fame in 1987.
His entire football career—from SOC through his Cowboy years—was influenced by ETSU.
The 6-5, 250-pounder wore a football uniform for the first time as a junior at SOC in 1968 after a little coaxing from Norman Jett, the head coach and a Lion football letterman in the ‘50s. Martin sat the bench most of that first year. His lack of experience was glowing, but Jett suggested that Lion coach Ernest Hawkins take a look at this mountain of raw talent. Hawkins sent his No. 1 recruiter, offensive coordinator Boley Crawford, to chat with the young man.
Tarleton State University also recognized Martin’s potential and sent defensive coordinator Bobby Fox recruiting. He made a good pitch, and Martin had difficulty choosing schools.
Then Crawford closed the deal. Martin’s mother, Helen, was an encyclopedia salesperson. Crawford said he would buy a set of her books, so Martin, with a little maternal advice, signed with the Lions. Crawford never bought the encyclopedias to increase his wealth of knowledge, but he did increase the wealth of talent of the Lions.
Fox, an All-America quarterback and safety for the Lions in 1955, would return to his Alma Mater in 1971 to direct Martin and the “Blue Gang” defense to the 1972 national championship.
Hawkins had a good crop of freshmen in 1969, including Burnis McFarland, Doug “Cochise” Walker, Jimmy Talbot, Curtis Wester, Phillip “Mummy” Bangs and Nelson “Preacher” Robinson. With only two seasons of high school ball behind him, Martin had the least credentials.
On the first day of two-a-days, the players run 40-yard dashes with coaches and sometimes a pro scout or two pointing stop watches. Martin immediately caught the attention of Dallas Cowboy scout Bobby Griffin, an All-LSC quarterback for the Lions in 1947 and 1948. Griffin kept asking me about him, and I thought Griffin had confused him with another player. Griffin would continue to asking about Martin for the next four years.
The speed he exhibited on his first day of practice would be his trademark, stopping option plays in college and “Martinizing” quarterbacks in the pros.
Perhaps Martin’s most memorable play was in his senior year against Angelo State University and Charlie Franklin, a speedy running back. Franklin had broken for what appeared to be a long TD when Martin caught him from behind. The crowd watched the play develop and stood in disbelief.
In 1971, Hawkins had what would become two of the best defensive ends in the NFL—Martin and two-time Pro Bowler Dwight White of the Pittsburgh Steelers, owner of four Super Bowl rings. White’s first impressions of Martin were, “He was a big, overgrown kid—a pudgy, baby giant—a nice kid.”
White, a Dallas Madison High School product, became Martin’s hero. Martin once said, “Dwight: he’s the guy who got me off on the right foot. I didn’t know anybody. I had only played football one year in high school. He was my roommate, two years ahead of me…He was like a model for me. I could watch and learn from him—everything he did. I was his biggest fan. I was a Dwight White freak.”
While Martin admired White, he had an intense desire to be better than White. White recalled, “He once told me, ‘You’re good, but I want to be one better.’ My jersey number for the Steelers was 78, and that’s why Harvey chose number 79 with the Cowboys.”

Harvey during his Lion football days

Martin and White met in the Super Bowl twice with the Steelers winning in 1976 and 1979. In 1981, Dave Anderson of The New York Times selected an all-time Super Bowl team. For defensive ends, he picked Martin and White.
All associated with Martin knew he had the size, speed and work ethic to be a professional football player but, as Hawkins said many times, “He was too nice.” Despite that assessment, he was taken by the Cowboys in the third round of the 1973 draft.
After a few days of that first Cowboy training camp, defensive coordinator Ernie Stautner agreed with Hawkins, calling Martin into his office and telling him point blank, “You’re not going to make this team. You’re too nice.”
According to training camp roommate and another Cowboy legend Drew Pearson, Martin literally changed overnight. The next day he was mean, and the rest is history.
After his 1978 Super Bowl co-MVP season, he was honored at Harvey Martin Appreciation Day in Commerce. In 1987, he was inducted into the University’s Athletic Hall of Fame. On both occasions he drew crowds, and he sent electricity through those crowds. Martin was electricity, before a crowd or one-on-one.
After some ups and downs following retirement, Martin joined another retired Cowboy, John Niland, as a salesman for Arrow Magnolia International, a chemical firm. Without prior sales experience, Martin worked with Niland for the last five years before his death, earning the company’s Salesman of the Year award three times.
More than 1,000 family and friends teammates attended his funeral Dec. 29 at Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano. About 80 of his SOC, Lion and Cowboy teammates were introduced.

Louis Margot is a former sports information director for the University. He can be reached via email at Louis_Margot@tamu-commerce.edu.