Hall of Fame
Position: End/Tackle
Years: 1946-1949
Place of Birth: Cleveland, OH
Date of Birth: Apr 08, 1924
Place of Death: Wildomar,CA
Date of Death: Oct 09, 2002
Jersey Number: 38
Height: 6-2
Weight: 204
Cleveland, OH (East Technical HS)
Jim Martin entered Notre Dame as a 22-year-old freshman, after 30 months in the Marines in World War II. He was a starter on the football team four years and co-captain (with Leon Hart) in his senior year. Notre Dame won 36 games, tied two, and lost none and was national champion in 1946, 1947 and 1949. He was an end his first three years, Notre Dame faced a shortage at tackle going into 1949, and Martin volunteered to change positions. He played tackle in 1949 and was on the AP, INS, and NEA All-America teams. Martin took part in swimming and boxing in intramural sports, was the school's heavyweight boxing champion, and received the 1950 George Gipp Award as Notre Dame's outstanding athlete. He stood 6-2 in height and weighed 204 pounds. James Richard Martin was born April 8, 1924, in Cleveland. He attended East Tech High School, played center in football, and captained the football and swimming teams. In the Marines, he served in the Fifth Amphibious Reconnaissance Battalion. He was part of a 3-man crew which used a rubber raft and entered the island of Tinian in the South Pacific one night. (His companions were Donn Neff and Olie Kelson.) They scouted the terrain and picked a safe landing spot for a marine invasion which followed. Because of his Marine service, he was given the nickname "Jungle Jim" when he entered college. Martin played 14 years in the National Football League. He was with Cleveland in 1950, Detroit in 1951-61, Baltimore in 1963, and Washington in 1964. (He spent the 1962 season as assistant coach at Denver.) He starred as linebacker and place kicker. For his pro career he had 56 field goals, including 15 in the 1961 season with Detroit. He worked as assistant coach at Mater Dei High School in Anaheim, California, 1965; Idaho State University, 1966; the Detroit Lions 1967-72; and at Portland with the World Football League, 1974-75. He died October 9, 2002.
