Martin Anthony Lyons was born on January 15,1957 and is a former American college and professional football player who was a defensive tackle and defensive end in the National Football League for 11 seasons during the 1970s and 1980s.
15 Facts About Marty Lyons
2.
Marty Lyons played college football for the University of Alabama, and earned All-American honors.
3.
Marty Lyons was a member of the Jets' famed "New York Sack Exchange," the team's dominant front four in 1981 and 1982 that featured Mark Gastineau, Abdul Salaam and Joe Klecko.
4.
Marty Lyons grew up in Pinellas Park, Florida and attended St Petersburg Catholic High School.
5.
Marty Lyons attended the University of Alabama, where he played for coach Bear Bryant's Alabama Crimson Tide football team from 1975 to 1978.
6.
Marty Lyons was a key player in the set of fourth quarter plays known as "The Goal Line Stand" in the 1979 Sugar Bowl.
7.
Marty Lyons was drafted by the New York Jets in the first round of the 1979 NFL Draft.
8.
In November 1981, Salaam, Gastineau, Klecko and Marty Lyons were invited to ring the ceremonial opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange that served as the inspiration for their nickname.
9.
Marty Lyons was involved in one of the best-known plays in NFL lore.
10.
Marty Lyons missed playing time during the 1987 season when his wife, Kelly, and son, Martin Anthony "Rocky" Marty Lyons Jr.
11.
Later the same season, during a Monday Night Football game, Marty Lyons blocked former Alabama teammate and Hall of Famer Dwight Stephenson in what Dolphins players and coaches labeled a 'cheap shot' that ended his career.
12.
Marty Lyons won the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award in 1984 as a result of that work.
13.
In December 2011, Marty Lyons was honored by the Heisman Trust as the recipient of the sixth annual Heisman Humanitarian Award for his work with his Foundation.
14.
Marty Lyons has been enshrined in the State of Alabama Hall of Fame, Long Island's Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame and Nassau County Sports Hall of Fame, Maryland Sports Hall of Fame, the Tampa Bay Sports Club Hall of Fame, and the College Football Hall of Fame.
15.
Marty Lyons received his bachelor's degree from the University of Alabama during winter commencement exercises on December 10,2016.