Jack Martin (American football)

John Taber Martin (April 10, 1922 - January 8, 2008) was an American football player.

Martin was born in 1922 in Flint, Michigan.[1] He moved to Toledo, Ohio, as a boy and attended Point Place High School and later Waite High School.[2] enrolled at Princeton University and played freshman football in 1940,[1] and varsity football as a reserve center for the 1941 Princeton Tigers football team team.[2][3] He was then accepted to the United States Naval Academy where he played for the Navy Midshipmen football teams in 1943 and 1944.[1][2] He was selected as a second-team center on the 1943 All-Eastern football team,[4] and the second-team center on the 1944 All-America football teams selected by the United Press and The Sporting News.[5][6] After his time at the Naval Academy, Martin spent two years on active duty with the Navy.[2] In 1946, he played for the Navy's Bainbridge Commodores football team.[7]

After his discharge from the Navy, Martin signed to play professional football for the Los Angeles Rams.[8] He played at the center and linebacker positions for the Rams during the 1947, 1948, and 1949 seasons, appearing in a total of 35 games, 17 of them as a starter.[9] He recovered three fumbles and intercepted one pass.[1] In April 1950, the Rams traded Martin to the Washington Redskins.[10] However, he did not play for the Redskins.[1]

After his football career ended, Martin became a professional negotiator. He married Evelyn Buchele, and they had two sons and a daughter.[2]