David Martin (born March 15, 1959) is a former

gridiron football Gridiron football,"Gridiron football"
''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Ret ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such offensive running plays as sweeps and reverses. They create turnove ...

who played in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL), the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; french: Ligue canadienne de football—LCF) is a professional sports league in Canada. The CFL is the highest level of competition in Canadian football. The league consists of nine teams, each located in a ...

(CFL) and the

United States Football League The United States Football League (USFL) was a professional American football league that played for three seasons, 1983 through 1985. The league played a spring/summer schedule in each of its active seasons. The 1986 season was scheduled to be ...

(USFL). He played college football at Villanova.

Early life and high school

Martin was born and grew up in

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

and attended

John Bartram High School John Bartram High School is a public secondary school serving neighborhoods of the Southwest Philadelphia area of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school, which serves grades 9 through 12, is a part of the School District of Philadelphia. History O ...

. He was named to the

Philadelphia Public League The Philadelphia Public League (PPL) is the interscholastic sports league for the public high schools of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The league traces its origin to 1901, with the formation of the Philadelphia Interscholastic League, a conference en ...

's All-Decade football team for the 1970s by the ''

Philadelphia Daily News ''Philadelphia Daily News'' is a tabloid newspaper that serves Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper is owned by The Philadelphia Inquirer, LLC, which also owns Philadelphia's other major newspaper ''The Philadelphia Inquirer' ...

''.

College career

Martin was a member of the

Villanova Wildcats The Villanova Wildcats are the athletic teams of Villanova University. They compete in the Big East (NCAA Division I) for every sport; except football and rowing where they compete in the Colonial Athletic Association (Football Championship Su ...

for four seasons. He tied for the team lead with four interceptions as a sophomore. He finished his collegiate career with ten interceptions and returned 31 punts for 387 yards and two touchdowns and 16 kickoffs for 302 yards.

Professional career

Martin was selected in the ninth round of the

1981 NFL Draft The 1981 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 28–29, 1981, at the New York S ...

by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at For ...

, but was cut during training camp. He was signed in by the Denver Gold of the newly formed

(USFL) in 1983 and was named All-USFL in his first season after intercepting six passes. Martin was named All-USFL as both a defensive back and as a punt returner 1984. Martin was traded to the Arizona Outlaws during the 1985 season and was again named All-USFL. Martin began the 1986 season with the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

and played in four games with the team before being released. He was signed by the

Montreal Alouettes The Montreal Alouettes (Canadian French, French: Les Alouettes de Montréal) are a professional Canadian football team based in Montreal, Quebec. Founded in 1946, the team has folded and been revived twice. The Alouettes compete in the Canadian F ...

of the

(CFL) and spent the rest of 1986 with the team. Martin became a free agent when Montreal suspended team operations and was signed by the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

on July 27, 1987. Martin was cut at the end of training camp, but was re-signed by the Bills in October 1987 as a

replacement player In professional sports, a replacement player is an athlete who is not a member of the league's players association and plays during a labor dispute such as a strike or lockout, serving as a strikebreaker. Instances of replacement players Natio ...

during the

1987 NFL players strike The National Football League Players Association, or NFLPA, is a labor union representing National Football League (NFL) players. The NFLPA, which has headquarters in Washington, D.C., is led by president J. C. Tretter and executive director D ...

, recording a sack in three games played before being released after the strike ended.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, David 1959 births Living people American football cornerbacks John Bartram High School alumni Villanova Wildcats football players Players of American football from Philadelphia Denver Gold players Detroit Lions players Arizona Outlaws players Montreal Alouettes players Buffalo Bills players San Diego Chargers players Players of Canadian football from Philadelphia National Football League replacement players