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Legendary Cowboys draw well for
Tri-Star
By Ross Forman
October 26, 2001
He didn’t look like “The Beautiful” Harvey Martin we once knew and loved, the Harvey Martin who captured co-MVP honors in Super Bowl XII (with Randy White). A former Dallas defensive end, the 6-foot-6, 265-pound monster who was selected in the third round of the 1973 NFL Draft, Martin is now a shadow of himself … a cancer victim.
But that didn’t stop him from attending a late-August card show in Arlington, Texas, even if the Arlington Convention Center was too cold for him and he instead sat outside on a hot and humid afternoon.
The heart was still there, so too was the love, devotion and dedication.
Martin was among eight former Dallas Cowboy defensive superstars who appeared at the Tri-Star Collectors Show, held August 24-26. He was not advertised in advance due to his health, but it was a show he seemed to want to attend as much as fans wanted him to appear. Martin wanted to be there for the fans and his former teammates.
He just wanted to be there, signing autographs and posing for pictures.
“When we first approached him about doing the show, he really wanted to do it, but was skeptical because he didn’t want to have to cancel,” said Tri-Star’s Bobby Mintz, who added that Martin endured chemotherapy days before the show. “The fans were excited as heck to have him there.”
Added Tri-Star President Jeff Rosenberg, “I still get goose bumps thinking about that story. The response to seeing him, the response from his teammates was incredible, very emotional, very special.”
Martin, from East Texas State, led the Cowboys in sacks for 10 straight years. His career spanned 11 seasons. From 1977-80, he was the defensive captain. Martin was a four-time Pro Bowler who played in 142 straight games. He retired in 1983.
Martin was a unanimous All-Pro in 1977 and still holds several Dallas sack records, such as Most Seasons Led Team (7), Total Career (113), Total Season (20) and Rookie Season (9).
Martin and teammate White, a defensive tackle, led Dallas to a 27-10 win over Denver in Super Bowl XII.
“The Harvey Martin story was very heart-felt, the most unique and emotional situation I’ve seen among other players. That’s the biggest thing so many people will take from this show,” Mintz said.
Added Rosenberg, “Dallas fans really developed a bond with those Cowboy teams, with those players. They really loved those team members.”
Martin was joined at the Tri-Star show by fellow former Dallas Cowboys White, John Dutton, Ed “Too Tall” Jones, Jethro Pugh, Bob Lilly, Larry Cole and George Andrie. Also appearing: Doug Davis, Rob Bell, Bart Starr, Brenden Morrow, Marty Turco, Ruben Sierra, Harmon Killebrew, Gabe Kapler, Mike Young, Steve Owens and Mike Modano.
About 4,500 fans attended the three-day extravaganza.
“I was real pleased with the show,” Rosenberg said. “The people in that Dallas area form a real good collecting market, much better than most people give (the city) credit for.
“Bringing the Doomsday I and II defenses…the people were real excited for that.
“We had a real good vibe from the dealers; they want us to go back (more often) to Dallas. We only did one show in the Dallas area this year; normally we do two, but we cancelled a January show. We got an overwhelming response after canceling that show. The fans and collectors wanted to know why we cancelled that show. Well, our answer was: if we can’t put together a great lineup, we weren’t gonna do it. We’re not gonna promote a sub-standard show.”
Well, the August show certainly was a sensation show – and Rosenberg predicted two Dallas-area shows in 2002.
Dallas Stars superstar Mike Modano was among the most popular signers, as was Texas Ranger Ruben Sierra who signed free autographs, and, said Mintz, “had a huge line,” of autograph-seekers. Modano signed more than 600 autographs; Starr signed 500. Harmon Killebrew signed 400 items, while Sierra inked his name about 350 times in just over an hour.
“One of the real nice things I saw at this show was, the number of women and children in attendance,” Rosenberg said. “There were so many (females in attendance), thus making this show truly a family event. A lot of that is attributed to the Dallas market, which is very family-oriented. I wouldn’t say they’re all hard-core collectors, but they’re fans none the less. And we need fans in our industry to help grow the business.
“The response we got to the (Ranger) players was very surprising, much better than we first thought.