:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/50388959/paulmartha.0.0.jpg)
If you spend any time on Twitter, you no doubt have seen people posting certain Pitt players wearing uniform numbers that correspond with the number of days left until the football season kicks off. Jim did it last year and this year, Pat Narduzzi has been doing it.
I know we have a lot of younger readers here and also some folks that may not have spent their entire lives following Pitt sports. For that reason, I thought it would be cool to not only do the countdown here, but also give a brief writeup on the player to potentially help fans connect a little more with some of the all-time greats.
Quick disclaimer - this isn't necessarily about picking the best player for each number. Not only is that disputable in many instances, but it's not really the point of the exercise. So don't be offended if your favorite player doesn't make the list here. I'll probably mirror Narduzzi's list for the most part but may go off the board in a few instances.
These will also be brief, folks. It's the offseason and we all use this time to wind down a bit. These won't be theses or anything, but we'll cobble together a few facts for each guy.
Finally, feel free to add on to a player's accomplishments in the comments section. Some I'll leave out due to space/time and some I may not even know about. But this will be a good learning exercise for all of us.
Continuing our countdown today is Paul Martha.
Martha was a jack of all trades of sorts for Pitt in the 1960s. After starting his career at quarterback, he converted to running back in 1962. That year, he led the team in receiving and scoring. In 1963, he was a consensus All-America running back. Martha's 1963 team was 9-1 but was known as the 'No Bowl Team' after turning down an invitation to the Sun Bowl while hoping for a larger bowl invite. In three seasons with Pitt, he had 1,691 all purpose yards.
After his Pitt career, Martha was the tenth overall pick in the 1964 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers playing as a return man, receiver, and running back before settling in at safety for the bulk of his seven-year career.
Be sure to join Cardiac Hill's Facebook page and follow us on Twitter@PittPantherBlog for our regular updates on Pitt athletics. Follow the author and founder/editor @AnsonWhaley.