|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Like many kids who grew up in Miami in the 1970s and 1980s, Tony Martin sat in the Orange Bowl stands dreaming of someday playing for the Dolphins. Little did he know how many twists and turns it would take to complete his journey. A 1983 graduate of Miami Northwestern High School, Martin had two stints as a wide receiver with the Miami Dolphins. The first occurred from 1989 to 1993 while wearing #89. He later returned to the Dolphins during the 1999 and 2000 seasons, this time wearing #80. In between his time with the Dolphins, he had developed into one of the NFL’s top big-play receivers with the San Diego Chargers and Atlanta Falcons in the 1990s. During his 12 year NFL career, Martin caught 593 passes for 9,065 yards and 56 career touchdowns. He exceeded 1,000 yards receiving four times in his career (1995, 1996, 1998 and 1999) and was selected to the Pro Bowl in 1996. He also started in two Super Bowl games–both losses played at Joe Robbie Stadium (Now Rock Stadium). But what makes Martin’s story truly remarkable is he was never supposed to play in the NFL–let alone college.
Tony Martin overcame tremendous odds to get to the NFL. Some of those obstacles were self inflicted. He attended Miami Northwestern High School, where he was a speedy backup wishbone quarterback under then head coach Roger Coffey. At the time, the Northwestern Bulls had a talented quarterback named Anthony Dawkins, who was one year ahead of Martin and was named All Dade County. Martin waited patiently behind Dawkins. When Dawkins graduated in 1982, it was supposed to be Martin’s time to shine. But his grades were poor. Just before his senior year of high school, Martin was supposed to take summer classes to maintain his eligibility. Instead, he decided to blow it all off and didn’t attend a single class. Martin was ruled ineligible his senior year and never played a down for a Bulls team that included future University of Miami stars Melvin Bratton, Tolbert Bain and Brett Perriman.
Despite not playing his entire senior year of high school, Martin still received a scholarship to play at tiny Bishop College–a historically black college in Dallas. Martin spent one year at Bishop. He was so miserable and homesick, he came back home to Miami. At one point he was working at a Mobil gas station on 67th Avenue in Miami Lakes.
In the spring of 1985, Martin’s high school teammate Tommy Streeter recommended him to the coaching staff at the University of Colorado. Streeter was then a defensive back at CU. Martin enrolled at Colorado as a walk-on. By the end of the preseason drills, Martin had won the starting quarterback job to run Colorado’s I-bone offense. But when Colorado coaches found out Martin had spent one year at Bishop College and never told them, he was kicked off the team.
Martin ultimately ended up playing at Mesa State College, a small NAIA program in Grand Junction, Colorado. He finally got his chance to shine. Martin put up monster numbers as an option quarterback. By his senior year in 1988, Martin helped Mesa’s offense average 53 points and 540 yards of total offense per game. NFL scouts began to notice. Martin ran a blistering 4.3 in the 40 at the NFL combine. The New York Jets selected him in the 5th round of the 1989 draft. However, the Jets placed him on waivers just before the start of the season. The Dolphins picked him up in 1990. Although Martin at times struggled making the transition from college quarterback to NFL receiver, it began a remarkable 12 year career. Despite taking an unusual path to the NFL, his story is not completely unique. Players like Chad Johnson and Antonio Brown would later find similar success. Both were previously unheralded high school quarterbacks from Miami-Dade County who went on to stellar NFL careers as receivers.
To read more stories about the Orange Bowl, visit us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/
