Photo courtesy of montclair.edu
To millions of football fans, George Martin is the captain that led the New York Giants to win the 1987 Super Bowl Championship. An almost unheard of fourteen-year career as a defensive lineman has placed him as one of the all time greats to wear a blue and white jersey. He is considered a hero to many, but he wants it to be known that playing football doesn’t make someone spectacular. Instead, he came to Yogi Berra Museum Wednesday night to share a more personal journey he went through after his football career.
Sitting in a small-scale replica of Yankee Stadium, individuals were treated to an intimate setting of hearing the football veteran talk about his mission to walk across the entire United States. After losing close friends to the tragic events of 9/11, Martin came up with the idea to raise money for the first responders at Ground Zero by trekking from the George Washington Bride to San Diego. It was extremely moving to see this sports legend show his full emotions and passion for the excursion, but also entertaining with his anecdotal side stories of small-town America. While his accolades on the field are something to admire, his efforts as a human being are heroic.
In case you missed George Martin’s speech, you can read about his journey in his autobiographical book Just Around the Bend.
