Sunday, December 30, 2001

Former Super Bowl MVP Harvey Martin eulogized

By STEPHEN HAWKINS
AP Sports Writer

PLANO, Texas (AP) — Former Super Bowl MVP Harvey Martin, the ferocious defensive end who was part of the Dallas Cowboys' famed Doomsday Defense, saved one sack for the end.

“Harvey Martin made the final sack of his life when he sacked death,” longtime friend John Reeves said Saturday during funeral services for Martin.
“He sacked death in the end zone and got a safety. And the Lord said the game is over, you won. Come and join me and get the Super Bowl ring of life. No more pain, no more suffering.”

About 1,000 family, friends and former teammates gathered for the funeral of Martin, who died Monday of pancreatic cancer. He was 51.

During the two-hour service, they celebrated the memory of the man whose nickname was “Too Mean” for his antics on the field — not off of it.

“Harvey was a guy with a big heart, passion and caring. He was one of those guys who would cry, get emotional and had a lot of feeling,” said former Cowboys safety Cliff Harris.

“He was always full of joy, always full of happiness,” said Mel Renfro, another former Cowboys teammate. “He identified with the nickname Beautiful Harvey Martin. He was always upbeat, always encouraging.”

Martin was a four-time Pro Bowler who during his 11-year career had 113 sacks, including a single-season team record 20 in 1977 when he was named defensive player of the year by The Associated Press. That season was capped by a 27-10 win over Denver in Super Bowl XII, the game in which Martin and teammate Randy White were named co-MVP.

Martin is the first Super Bowl MVP to die.

White, Harris and Renfro joined Roger Staubach, Drew Pearson, Tony Dorsett, Lee Roy Jordan, D.D. Lewis and Calvin Hill among about 75 former Cowboys and college teammates at the service. Alicia Landry, the widow of former Cowboys coach Tom Landry, also attended.

When Pearson spoke at Landry's funeral in February 2000, he said the former coach was joining God's Football League. “Coach Landry needed a pass-rushing defensive end,” Pearson said.

“It's a sad day. At the same time, it's a happy day,” Pearson said. “Harvey's no longer in pain. he's in a better place and he was prepared for that place.”
Pearson and Martin both joined the Cowboys as rookies in 1973 and retired after the 1983 season. They became friends their first training camp when they roomed together — placed together because their names fell in alphabetical order. They were on the phone together, watching television at different places, when they saw they had made the team.

“We started screaming,” Pearson said. “It was important that we shared that moment together because we had become such good friends.”

Not only did Harvey become Pearson's best friend, they were roommates for road games throughout their careers.

“It wasn't easy being Harvey's roommate on the road. He talked all of the time,” Pearson said. “When I'd fall asleep, he'd get on the phone and start talking to somebody else.”

Pearson spent the final days in the hospital with Martin, who had kept his battled with cancer private from so many other people.

“He didn't want sympathy. He didn't want pity,” Pearson said.

Former Cowboys offensive guard John Niland was a teammate of Martin's only in 1973 and 1974, the last two of his nine NFL seasons, but is the vice president of the chemical company for which Martin worked the past five years and was the salesman of the year three times.

“This guy was a true champion, and he really loved the Lord, and the Lord did help him turn his life around,” Niland said. “We had mothers that prayed for us for a long time, and it worked.”

Niland visited Martin in the hospital just days before his death. He lifted his former teammate — an imposing 6-foot-5, 250-pound figure during his playing days — back into his bed after a nurse completed a treatment.

Martin, the excruciating pain showing on his face while being moved, looked up to Niland and said, “I guess it makes up for the bumps on your head because that hurt a lot.” Niland said he still has the scars on his knees and other aches from some of their head-to-head battles on the Cowboys' practice field.

“It's just a shame for him to have to die to get the recognition he deserved,” Niland said.