Curtis Martin spent his first three seasons with the New England Patriots, who selected him in the third round of the 1995 NFL Draft, and was named NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year.
39 Facts About Curtis Martin
2.
Curtis Martin was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012.
3.
Curtis Martin is often regarded as one of the greatest running backs of all time.
4.
Curtis Martin began attending Taylor Allderdice High School which was known for its highly regarded academic reputation.
5.
Curtis Martin played basketball as a sophomore, but did not participate in any sports during his junior year.
6.
At the insistence of his mother, who wanted him to participate in an extracurricular activity as a way to keep him away from crime and violence, Curtis Martin began to play football during his senior year, despite having never cared much for the sport.
7.
Curtis Martin was considered a natural athlete, according to former head coach Mark Wittgartner and became an immediate star on the football team.
8.
Curtis Martin played at the running back and linebacker positions.
9.
Curtis Martin played on special teams and occasionally at quarterback.
10.
Curtis Martin ran for 1,705 yards and scored 20 touchdowns in his lone season of high school football.
11.
Curtis Martin graduated from Allderdice in 1991 and was inducted into their alumni hall of fame in 2011.
12.
In 1994, Curtis Martin opened his senior year running for a career-high 251 yards against Texas however the following week against Ohio he suffered a sprained ankle that sidelined him for the rest of the season.
13.
Curtis Martin had the option to redshirt and play one more season at Pittsburgh or enter the NFL Draft.
14.
Curtis Martin chose to enter the draft stating "in the end it was the best thing to do".
15.
Draft analysts predicted that had Curtis Martin stayed another season at Pittsburgh and remained injury-free he could have been a potential first-round selection.
16.
Curtis Martin signed a contract with the team on July 19,1995, and made his NFL debut in the Patriots' week one win over the Cleveland Browns.
17.
Curtis Martin ran for 30 yards on his first carry and finished with 102 yards for the day.
18.
Curtis Martin became the first Patriots rookie to rush for 100 yards during their debut.
19.
Curtis Martin continued his impressive streak and rushed for over 100 yards eight more times during the season.
20.
Curtis Martin finished the season as the AFC's leading rusher with 1,487 yards and 14 touchdowns.
21.
Curtis Martin won the Offensive Rookie of the Year Award and was named to the Pro Bowl.
22.
Curtis Martin rushed for a then franchise-record 166 yards and three touchdowns including a 78-yard touchdown, the second-longest touchdown run in playoff history at the time.
23.
Curtis Martin rushed for 42 yards, caught three passes for 28 yards, and scored a touchdown in the game.
24.
On March 20,1998, Curtis Martin signed a six-year, $36-million poison pill contract.
25.
The "poison pill" was a clause in the contract that stated Curtis Martin would become an unrestricted free agent after one year if the Patriots matched the offer and it would have forced New England to pay a $3.3 million roster bonus that would have compromised their salary cap.
26.
In 1998, Curtis Martin gained 182 yards from scrimmage and scored two touchdowns against the Jacksonville Jaguars in a Jets playoff win.
27.
Curtis Martin rushed for a season-high 196 yards against the Cincinnati Bengals in the team's home opener, and would rush for over 100 yards eight more times that season, finishing with 1,697 yards.
28.
Curtis Martin won the NFL rushing title by one more yard than runner-up Shaun Alexander and became the oldest player, at age 31, in league history to win the rushing title.
29.
Curtis Martin was named the FedEx Ground Player of the Year and named an All-Pro and elected to his fifth and final Pro Bowl.
30.
In 2005, Curtis Martin suffered what was deemed as a strained right knee injury in the Jets' second game of the season against the Miami Dolphins, when he was tackled by linebacker Zach Thomas.
31.
An MRI of the knee was negative and Curtis Martin continued to play through the season despite a noticeable drop-off in production, having only rushed for 100 or more yards once the entire season.
32.
On November 27,2005, Curtis Martin joined Barry Sanders, Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith as the only running backs to rush for 14,000 yards in their career.
33.
Curtis Martin began 2006 on the Physically Unable to Perform list as the post-operation recovery period took longer than expected though the surgery was considered minimally invasive.
34.
Curtis Martin continued to involve himself in various charity work including through the Curtis Martin Job Foundation, established by Martin during his playing career, designed to provide "financial aid and hands-on support to single mothers, children's charities, individuals with disabilities and low income housing providers".
35.
Curtis Martin was considered for induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2011; however, he was not selected.
36.
Curtis Martin was again a leading candidate for selection in 2012 alongside former head coach and mentor Bill Parcells.
37.
Curtis Martin was selected for induction on February 4,2012 and formally inducted on August 4,2012.
38.
On November 11,2013, Martin was added to the Miami Dolphins' five-man committee to develop the conduct code by owner Stephen M Ross following a locker room hazing incident involving Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin.
39.
Curtis Martin married his longtime girlfriend Carolina Williams in a ceremony held at Oheka Castle in Huntington, Long Island in 2010.