John Taber Martin (April 10, 1922 - January 8, 2008) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player. Martin was born in 1922 in

Flint, Michigan Flint is the largest city and seat of Genesee County, Michigan, United States. Located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit, it is a principal city within the region known as Mid Michigan. At the 2020 census, Flint had a population of 8 ...

. He moved to

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

, as a boy and attended Point Place High School and later Waite High School. enrolled at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial Colleges, fourth-oldest ins ...

and played freshman football in 1940, and varsity football as a reserve center for the

1941 Princeton Tigers football team The 1941 Princeton Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Princeton University in the Ivy League during the 1941 college football season. In its fourth season under head coach Tad Wieman, the team compiled a 2–6 re ...

team. He was then accepted to the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...

where he played for the

Navy Midshipmen football The Navy Midshipmen football team represents the United States Naval Academy in NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) college football. The Naval Academy completed its final season as an FBS independent school (not in a conference) i ...

teams in 1943 and 1944. He was selected as a second-team center on the 1943 All-Eastern football team, and the second-team center on the 1944 All-America football teams selected by the

United Press United Press International (UPI) is an American international news agency whose newswires, photo, news film, and audio services provided news material to thousands of newspapers, magazines, radio and television stations for most of the 20th c ...

and ''The Sporting News''. After his time at the Naval Academy, Martin spent two years on active duty with the Navy. In 1946, he played for the Navy's Bainbridge Commodores football team. After his discharge from the Navy, Martin signed to play professional football for the

Los Angeles Rams The Los Angeles Rams are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Rams compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division. The Rams play ...

. 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. He recovered three fumbles and intercepted one pass. In April 1950, the Rams traded Martin to the

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

. However, he did not play for the Redskins. After his football career ended, Martin became a professional negotiator. He married Evelyn Buchele, and they had two sons and a daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Jack 1922 births American football offensive linemen Los Angeles Rams players Princeton Tigers football players Navy Midshipmen football players 2008 deaths Players of American football from Flint, Michigan