Roderick Darryl Martin (born April 7, 1954) is a retired
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
linebacker
Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...
who played for the
Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders from
1977
Events January
* January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
* January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...
to
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...
. He is best known for his record three interceptions in
Super Bowl XV, which put him on the cover of ''
Sports Illustrated
''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...
''.
High school career
Martin went to
Hamilton High School, a year ahead of NFL
hall of fame quarterback
Warren Moon
Harold Warren Moon (born November 18, 1956) is an American former football quarterback who played professionally for 23 seasons. He spent the majority of his career with the Houston Oilers of the National Football League (NFL) and the Edmonton ...
.
College career
Before his NFL career, Martin played
college football at the
University of Southern California
, mottoeng = "Let whoever earns the palm bear it"
, religious_affiliation = Nonsectarian—historically Methodist
, established =
, accreditation = WSCUC
, type = Private research university
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $8.1 ...
(USC), where he was a 1976 All-
Pac-10 selection. Prior to USC, Martin played at
Los Angeles City College
Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campu ...
.
Professional career
Martin was one of the top linebackers in the NFL during his 12 seasons and made the
Pro Bowl
The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players.
The format has changed thro ...
twice during his career, in 1983 and 1984. Selected in the twelfth round of the
1977 NFL Draft, Martin was initially a tweener, undersized for a Linebacker and slow for a Safety, but eventually bulked up to 220-225. In
1978, his second year, Martin started 8 games, filling in at Inside Linebacker By
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the '' International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the '' Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the so ...
, he settled in at the weak-side LB spot, becoming a mainstay on the Raider defense, assisting the Silver & Black to two Super Bowl victories (
1980,
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to TCP/IP is officially completed (this is considered to be the beginning ...
seasons) and having an outstanding performance in each one. In
Super Bowl XV, Martin recorded a Super Bowl record three interceptions from
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...
quarterback
Ron Jaworski
Partner owner
, highlights=
* Pro Bowl (1980)
* Bert Bell Award (1980)
* Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame
;NFL record
* Longest touchdown pass: 99 yards (tied)
, statlabel1= TD– INT
, statvalue1=179–164
, statlabel2=Yards
, statvalue2=28,19 ...
, and returned them for 44 yards.
[ His interceptions were not only a Super Bowl record, but they also tied linebacker ]Chuck Howley
Charles Louis Howley (born June 28, 1936) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 15 seasons, primarily with the Dallas Cowboys. Howley spent his first two seasons with the Chicago Bears, who ...
's record for career Super Bowl interceptions. Among these players, Martin is the only one to record all 3 of his interceptions in one game. In Super Bowl XVIII
Super Bowl XVIII was an American football game played on January 22, 1984, at Tampa Stadium between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XVII champion Washington Redskins and the American Football Conference ( ...
, Martin broke up a third down pass on his own 7-yard line in the second quarter, sacked Joe Theismann
Joseph Robert Theismann (born September 9, 1949) is an American former professional football player, sports commentator, corporate speaker and restaurateur. He rose to fame playing quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) and Canad ...
once, tackled 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 ...
Hall of Fame running back John Riggins
Robert John Riggins (born August 4, 1949), nicknamed "Riggo" and "Diesel", is an American former professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the New York Jets and Washington Redskins. He played col ...
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.
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
The USC Information Sciences Institute (ISI) is a component of the University of Southern California (USC) Viterbi School of Engineering, and specializes in research and development in information processing, computing, and communications techn ...
. Martin has two daughters: Jessica, who played volleyball at Bethune-Cookman University, and Jade, a softball player who attended Morgan State University
Morgan State University (Morgan State or MSU) is a public historically black research university in Baltimore, Maryland. It is the largest of Maryland's historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). In 1867, the university, then known a ...
.
According to the 2003 Tampa Bay Devil Rays
The Tampa Bay Rays are an American professional baseball team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The Rays compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Since its inception, the team's home ve ...
media guide, Al Martin
Albert Lee Martin (born November 24, 1967) is a former professional baseball left fielder. He played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball, mostly for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He also played one season in the KBO League.
Early life
Martin gradua ...
is a nephew of Rod Martin.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Rod
1954 births
Living people
Alexander Hamilton High School (Los Angeles) alumni
American football linebackers
Los Angeles Raiders players
Oakland Raiders players
USC Trojans football players
American Conference Pro Bowl players
Los Angeles City College alumni
People from Welch, West Virginia
Players of American football from West Virginia