| No. 53 | |
| Linebacker | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Date of birth: April 7, 1954 | |
| Place of birth: Welch, West Virginia | |
| Career information | |
| College: USC | |
| NFL Draft: 1977 / Round: 12 / Pick: 317 | |
| Debuted in 1977 for the [[{{{debutteam}}}]] | |
| Last played in 1988 for the [[{{{finalteam}}}]] | |
| Career history | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
| INT | 14 |
| INT yards | 225 |
| Touchdowns | 4 |
| Stats at NFL.com | |
Rod Martin (born April 7, 1954 in Welch, West Virginia) is a retired National Football League linebacker who played for the Los Angeles and Oakland Raiders from 1977 to 1988.
College career[]
Before his NFL career, Martin played college football at the University of Southern California where he was a 1976 All-Pac-10 graduate. Prior to USC, Martin played at Los Angeles City College.
High school career[]
Martin went to Hamilton High School, the same high school NFL Hall of Famer Warren Moon attended.
Professional career[]
Martin was one of the top linebackers in the NFL during his 12 seasons, assisting the Raiders to 2 Super Bowl victories (1980, 1983) and having an outstanding performance in each one. In Super Bowl XV, Martin recorded a Super Bowl record 3 interceptions from Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Ron Jaworski, and returned them for 44 yards. His 3 interceptions were not only a Super Bowl record, but they also tied linebacker Chuck Howley's record for career Super Bowl interceptions (later defensive back Larry Brown tied this record as well).[1] Among these players, Martin is the only one to record all 3 of his interceptions in one game. In Super Bowl XVIII, Martin broke up a third down pass on his own 7-yard line in the second quarter, a sack of Joe Theismann, tackled Washington Redskins hall of fame running back John Riggins for no gain on a fourth down and one conversion attempt deep in Raiders territory on the last play of the third quarter, and recovered a fumble in the final period.[2]。
In his 12 NFL seasons, Martin recorded 14 interceptions, which he returned for 225 yards and 4 touchdowns, along with 10 fumble recoveries, which he returned for 122 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also recorded 33 and a half official sacks (sacks were not an official statistic until 1982, Martin's 5th season). Martin made the Pro Bowl twice during his career, in 1983 and 1984.
Personal[]
Martin has returned to work at USC, where he is a programmer and manager of technical and user support services in the Information Sciences Institute. Martin and his wife Regina have 2 daughters, Jessica who played volleyball at Bethune-Cookman University and Jade a softball player who attended Morgan State University.
References[]
- ↑ "Super Bowl XV play-by-play". USA Today. 2002-01-11. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/nfl/super/superbowl-xv-plays.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
- ↑ "Super Bowl XVIII play-by-play". USA Today. 2002-01-11. http://www.usatoday.com/sports/nfl/super/superbowl-xviii-plays.htm. Retrieved 2009-08-28.
External links[]
- Rod Martin Profile at USC Legends
- Gallery/Checklist of football cards
| |||||