The history of the Nebraska Cornhuskers is filled with legendary players, but the extensiveness of their success means these legendary players span decades.
From their most recent future hall-of-famers like Ndamukong Suh and Lavonte David to legendary giants of the game like Johnny Rodgers and Roger Craig, a plethora of players have carved out their legacy with the tool that is Nebraska football.
Nebraska Cornhuskers legend dead at 84-years-old
One legend of Nebraska football that helped build them into a juggernaut before they ever won a national championship was Noel Martin.
Martin, honored at the 400th sellout against the Illinois Fighting Illini, has a special place in Nebraska football history. In 1962, Martin scored the first touchdown of the sellout streak with an 88-yard pick-six.
Martin was familiar with the nature of Husker nation for over five decades when he was honored, but the unwavering belief of Nebraska fans still caught him by surprise when he was honored in September.
Martin explained what made the sellout streak so impressive in an article from KLKNTV.
September.
“When you fill a stadium with over 90,000 people, nobody else can do that, that tells you a lot,” he said.
You can’t believe what you’re looking at, it’s tremendous,” he said. “We were here a few weeks ago and it was tremendous, the noise, the people getting involved, it was just beautiful.”
Martin started his coaching career quickly after his playing career. He had an extremely successful high school coaching stint before making his way back to the Huskers as a defensive coordinator, offensive coordinator, assistant wrestling coach and assistant professor.
Martin’s obituary explains what the family prefers instead of flowers.
“In lieu of flowers, memorials are preferred to CentraCare Hospice, Moffitt Cancer Center and St Cloud Red Cross blood bank.”
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