Harvey Martin Harvey Banks Martin ( November 16 , 1950 – December 24 , 2001 ) was an American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys from 1973 until 1983 . He started playing football in high school , only because he overheard his father tell his mother that he was ashamed that his son did not play like his friends ' children . He eventually starred at South Oak Cliff High School and East Texas State University before being drafted in the third round of the 1973 NFL Draft . Early years . In 1967 , Martin ' s junior year in high school , he transferred to South Oak Cliff High School , which had become the first integrated high school in Dallas . That year , Martin suited up for a football team for the first time in his life . The team went 9 - 1 that year , though Martin was a backup offensive tackle and only played whenever they had a sizable lead . That would change by his senior year , when in the spring game he got a chance to fill in on defense , which eventually convinced the coaches to move him to defensive tackle . By the third game of his senior year he was a starter and by the end of the season he was the best lineman on a 12 - 1 team that won the Dallas City championship and went on to the state quarterfinals . Still , he was so skinny and so late - blooming that the only college that offered him a scholarship was East Texas State in Commerce ( now named Texas A & M University – Commerce ) . Outside of Dwight White being his roommate , his first two college seasons playing as a defensive end went undistinguished . But he evolved into the best defensive end in school history . During his senior year in 1972 , in route to leading the school to a national title , he was named to the NAIA All - America n , All - Texas , and All - Lone Star Conference Teams . Martin is one of the most recognized names in the history of Texas A & M University – Commerce athletics , who was inducted into its Hall of Fame in 1987 . Texas A & M University – Commerce in 2008 started hosting the Harvey Martin Classic where the school ' s football team plays against another team from the Lone Star Conference . In 2007 he was selected to the Lone Star Conference ’ s 75th Anniversary football team and was named the LSC defensive player of the decade for the 1970s . In 2010 he was inducted into the Lone Star Conference Hall Of Fame . Professional career . He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the third round of the 1973 NFL Draft . During his first years with the team , the coaching staff looked to instill in Martin a sense of aggressiveness , confidence and mental toughness , that didn ' t come naturally to him . He eventually improved his physical strength , improved his technique practicing against hall of famer Rayfield Wright and learned to become an emotional player and fierce competitor , so much so , that he was nicknamed " Too Mean " . By his third year in 1975 , he was a full - time starter . The NFL didn ' t start recognizing quarterback sack s as an official stat until 1982 ; however , the Cowboys have their own records , dating back before the 1982 season . According to the Cowboys ' stats , Martin is unofficially credited with a total of 114 sacks , leading the Cowboys in sacks seven times during a nine - year period , with a high total of 23 sacks in 1977 . He ranks first on the team ' s all - time sack leaders list . In his rookie year he was a pass rushing specialist , playing only on passing downs , but still lead the team in quarterback sacks with 9 , tying Willie Townes rookie team record . His 1977 season was one of the greatest ever by an NFL player . In a 14 - game season he totaled 85 tackles and a league - leading 23 sacks ( more than Michael Strahan ' s 22 . 5 record ) , he was named the NFL Defensive Player of the Year , a consensus All - Pro selection , a key component of the Cowboys winning Super Bowl XII , and a co - MVP of the game with Randy White . He remained the team sack leader or co - leader every year , but his totals started to dwindled as his personal problems ( financial problems and addictions ) grew bigger . As part of the famed Doomsday Defense , " The Beautiful " aka " Too Mean " went to the Pro Bowl four times and was co - Super Bowl MVP in Super Bowl XII . He still holds team records for most sacks as a rookie ( 9 - 1973 ) , in a season ( 23 - 1977 ) , and career ( 114 ) . Former Cowboys GM Tex Schramm stated " He ' ll be remembered as one of the great Cowboys of the golden years . . . He was a great player , one of the first great pass rushers . " Martin followed up his 23 - sack 1977 season with a 16 - sack performance in 1978 , 10 in 1979 , 12 in 1980 , 10 in 1981 , 8 in 1982 and 2 in 1983 . To this day he is considered the greatest defensive end in Dallas Cowboys history . Martin , along with Don Meredith , is among the few players to play his high school ( Dallas South Oak Cliff High School ) , college ( East Texas State University ( now Texas A & M University – Commerce ) , and pro ( Dallas Cowboys ) career in and around the Dallas , Texas , area . He never played a home game , on any level , outside of North Texas . In 2009 , he was inducted into the Texas Sports Hall of Fame . He is also a member of the Texas Black Sports Hall of Fame . Personal life . Following his retirement in 1984 , Martin briefly served as an NFL analyst for NBC , participated in the battle royal at WrestleMania 2 ( 1986 ) for World Wrestling Federation , and appeared several times in World Class Championship Wrestling and the Global Wrestling Federation as a ringside commentator . With football gone , many inner demons came to light , including bankruptcies , domestic violence , and polysubstance abuse . Although coach Tom Landry sent him to rehab in 1983 , Martin continued to abuse drugs and alcohol . He hit rock - bottom in 1996 , when " Too Mean " was jailed on domestic violence and cocaine charges , where he received probation and spent the next eight months in a court - ordered rehabilitation program . Afterwards , he was given a job selling chemical products by former teammate and Cowboys offensive lineman John Niland . He was able to turn his life around , staying clean and sober for the final years of his life , giving anti - drug speeches to both schoolchildren and recovering addicts . Martin died of pancreatic cancer on December 24 , 2001 at the age of 51 . As of January 15 , 2013 , he is the only Super Bowl Most Valuable Player who is deceased .