Jack Martin (American football)

Jack Martin
Personal information
Born:(1922-04-10)April 10, 1922
Flint, Michigan, U.S.
Died:January 8, 2008(2008-01-08) (aged 85)
California, U.S.
Height:6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight:238 lb (108 kg)
Career information
College:Princeton (1940–1941), Navy (1943–1944)
Position:Center, linebacker
Career history
Career highlights and awards
  • 2× Second-team All-Eastern (1943, 1944)
Stats at Pro Football Reference Edit this at Wikidata

John Taber Martin (April 10, 1922 - January 8, 2008) was an American football player.

Martin was born in 1922 in Flint, Michigan.[1] He moved to Toledo, Ohio, as a boy and attended Point Place High School and later Waite High School.[2] enrolled at Princeton University and played freshman football in 1940,[1] and varsity football as a reserve center for the 1941 Princeton Tigers football team team.[2][3] He was then accepted to the United States Naval Academy where he played for the Navy Midshipmen football teams in 1943 and 1944.[1][2] He was selected as a second-team center on the 1943 All-Eastern football team,[4] and the second-team center on the 1944 All-America football teams selected by the United Press and The Sporting News.[5][6] After his time at the Naval Academy, Martin spent two years on active duty with the Navy.[2] In 1946, he played for the Navy's Bainbridge Commodores football team.[7]

After his discharge from the Navy, Martin signed to play professional football for the Los Angeles Rams.[8] He played at the center and linebacker positions for the Rams during the 1947, 1948, and 1949 seasons, appearing in a total of 35 games, 17 of them as a starter.[9] He recovered three fumbles and intercepted one pass.[1] In April 1950, the Rams traded Martin to the Washington Redskins.[10] However, he did not play for the Redskins.[1]

After his football career ended, Martin became a professional negotiator. He married Evelyn Buchele, and they had two sons and a daughter.[2]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e "Jack Martin". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Jack Martin Obituary". The Toledo Blade. March 9, 2008 – via Legacy.com.
  3. ^ "Jack Martin Excels". Lancaster Daily Intelligencer. October 28, 1941 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "All-Eastern Team". The Philadelphia Inquirer. November 25, 1943. p. 25 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Here Is the All-American Team". Nevada State Journal. November 30, 1944. p. 12 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Sporting News All-Americans Announced". The Morning Call. December 6, 1944. p. 15 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Bainbridge Gridders Ready For Aberdeen". The Baltimore Sun. October 25, 1946. p. 18 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "What's Cookin' with Kokon". The Valley Times. July 2, 1947. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Jack Martin NFL & AFL Football Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 19, 2023.
  10. ^ "Rams' Jack Martin Goes to Redskins". Los Angeles Times. April 28, 1950. p. IV-3 – via Newspapers.com.