Curtis Martin

Curtis James Martin Jr. (born May 1, 1973) is a former American football running back who spent the majority of his career with the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). Martin began his professional career with the New England Patriots, who selected him in the third round of the 1995 NFL Draft. As a free agent in 1998, he joined the Jets where he finished his career in 2007 due to a career-ending knee injury in the 2006 NFL season. He retired as the fourth leading rusher in NFL history. He was selected as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2012.

Curtis Jr. was born to Rochella Dixon and Curtis Sr. on May 1, 1973. Curtis Sr. left the family in 1978 after turning to drugs and alcohol, leaving Curtis’s mother to support the family by working three jobs. During his youth, Curtis often moved around the various neighborhoods in Pittsburgh and was consistently surrounded by violence. His grandmother, Eleanor Johnson, was found murdered with a knife in her chest; at age 15, Martin had a near-death experience when a loaded gun pointed at his head was pulled seven times, but never fired.