Martin Patton (October 21, 1970 – November 20, 2012) was a

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

in the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

. Originally playing with the powerhouse

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private research university in Coral Gables, Florida. , the university enrolled 19,096 students in 12 colleges and schools across nearly 350 academic majors and programs, incl ...

Hurricanes, Patton ran into legal trouble. He received probation for

credit card fraud Credit card fraud is an inclusive term for fraud committed using a payment card, such as a credit card or debit card. The purpose may be to obtain goods or services or to make payment to another account, which is controlled by a criminal. The P ...

and later had an altercation with police after a car accident (Patton lost most of his family in automotive accidents). His promising opportunity ended when he was dropped by the Hurricanes and he finished his college at

Texas A&I Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

. He led the Javelinas in rushing yards, with 876, in 1992 and was a

Lone Star Conference The Lone Star Conference (LSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level. Member institutions are located in the southwestern United States, with schools in Tex ...

all-star. He played professional football with the

CFL The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ci ...

expansion

Shreveport Pirates The Shreveport Pirates were a Canadian Football League team, playing at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, in 1994 and 1995. Despite a relatively strong fan base, they were one of the least successful of the CFL's A ...

in 1994, leading the team with 659 rushing yards and 8 touchdowns. In 1995, he rushed for over 1,000 yards (1040) and was 3rd best rusher in the league. He finished his career in 1996 with the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

. Finally, Patton is in the

record books, tied with

Earl Lunsford Earl Lunsford (October 19, 1933 – September 3, 2008), known as the "Earthquake", was a fullback for the Calgary Stampeders and is a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame. College football Lunsford played during college at with Oklahoma ...

for having scored 5 rushing touchdowns in one game, against Winnipeg on August 5, 1995. Patton died in a car accident on November 20, 2012, in

Shelby County, Texas Shelby County is a county located in the far eastern portion of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 24,022. Its county seat is Center. The county was created in 1835 as a municipality of Mexico and organized as a ...

. He is survived by his four children Ashley McDonald, Taylor Patton, Kaila Patton, and Martin Patton Jr.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patton, Martin 1970 births 2012 deaths Shreveport Pirates players Winnipeg Blue Bombers players Canadian football running backs Miami Hurricanes football players Texas A&M–Kingsville Javelinas football players African-American players of Canadian football Road incident deaths in Texas 20th-century African-American sportspeople 21st-century African-American sportspeople Players of Canadian football from Texas