The Las Vegas Raiders' extended family will miss linebacker Rod Martin, who set a Super Bowl record when he got a ring.
The Las Vegas Raiders announced the passing of former linebacker Rod Martin at 72, with the news reported by Matt Moret of The Athletic in an article that didn’t include the cause of death.
Martin was an underrated star linebacker who played for the Raiders in the late 70s and 80s, and he had a 12-year career with the Silver and Black. He played in 165 games and started in 147 of them, and Martin was a two-time Pro Bowler who earned first-team All-Pro honors in 1984 after being named a second-team All-Pro the year before, according to Moret.
The Raiders statement also hailed Martin as “a beloved member of the Raiders family and a favorite of Raiders fans everywhere.”
Martin was also a Super Bowl hero in 1981, when the then-Oakland Raiders beat the Philadelphia Eagles, 27-10, with Martin leading the defense with three interceptions. That still stands as a Super Bowl record, but the MVP award for the game still went to quarterback Jim Plunkett as voters submitted their MVP votes before Martin picked off this third pass of the game.
“How can the person who intercepted those passes not be named the MVP?” Martin complained to the Los Angeles Times’ Bill Plaschke in 1993. “I still can’t understand it. … We could have at least shared the award, and I think Jim even feels the same way.
“I don’t know if the record will ever be broken,” he added. “But I know it will not be broken by a linebacker.”
He’s been right to date, and Martin was also part of another Super Bowl-winning team three years later when the Raiders temporarily relocated to Los Angeles. Martin didn’t have any interceptions in that one, but he did have a sack and a fumble recover as the Raiders trounced Washington, 38-9.
Martin also displayed a knack for big plays whenever he recorded a turnover. He returned his interceptions for four touchdowns and a total of 225 yards, and Martin also scored on two of his fumble recoveries while adding another 122 yards in that category.
The linebacker was also a versatile force on defense. Sacks weren’t officially recorded back when he played, but Pro Football Reference puts is sack total at 56.5 and credits him with a safety as well.
Martin retired in 1988 and returned to his alma mater to take a job as a programmer in USC’s Information Sciences Institute, according to Moret. He is survived by his wife, Devin Martin, and daughters Jessica and Jade.