Rod Martin, the linebacker who helped anchor two Super Bowl championship teams for the then-Oakland Raiders, has died at 72, the Las Vegas Raiders said Monday. No cause of death was known at the time of the announcement.
The team said it was deeply saddened by his passing and described Martin as a beloved member of the Raiders family and a favorite of fans. He spent his entire 12-season career in Oakland after the Raiders chose him in the 12th round of the 1977 draft out of USC.
Martin’s name is tied to some of the biggest moments in Raiders postseason history. He had three interceptions in the Raiders’ 27-10 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XV in 1981, setting a Super Bowl record at the time, and he later helped beat Washington 38-9 in Super Bowl XVIII with a sack and a fumble recovery.
His career numbers underscored how steady he was for a team that leaned on defense. Martin played in 165 games and made 147 starts, was selected to two Pro Bowls and earned two All-Pro honors, including first-team recognition in 1984. He also had four touchdown returns on 14 career interceptions and scored two touchdowns on 10 fumble recoveries.
Born in West Virginia as the son of a coal miner, Martin moved to Los Angeles in his youth and attended Alexander Hamilton High School before going to Los Angeles City College and then USC. He was an all-Pac-10 selection in 1976, and after his football career ended he returned to USC to work at the Information Sciences Institute as a programmer and manager of technical and user support services.
For the Raiders, Martin was more than a stat line. He was part of the franchise’s championship core, and his postseason performances made him one of the defining defensive players of that era.
