35 Inspirational Hall Of Fame Leadership Quotes By Curtis Martin

Earlier this evening, former New York Jets and New England Patriots running back Curtis Martin,  the NFL’s fourth all-time leading rusher, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  Before we get to the quotes from his induction speech, the following were some comments he made earlier this week on ESPN’s Mike and Mike radio show:

1. “I never really watched football growing up…I was never really a football fan.”
2. “I initially didn’t want to play football…It’s kind of awkward.”
3. “My career is not half of what it is without Bill Parcells…He taught me how to be a man.”
4. “I know the only reason I’m here is because of the impact he (Parcells) made in my life.”

The following are two additional quotes about Martin from an www.ESPN.com article.  In contains the behind-the-scenes story of the Jets’ acquisition of Martin which you can read by clicking here.

1. “The key to life is having quality people with you, and Curtis is right at the top of the heap as a quality individual, both the way he conducts himself personally and the way he played,” Patriots owner Robert Kraft told ESPNNewYork.com. “I will forever have a warm spot in my heart for him. The Jets made a very wise decision by getting him. I just wish he were entering the Hall of Fame as 100 percent Patriot.”
2. “One of the things I’ve learned about building a team, it’s an art, not a science,” the Jets’ current GM Mike Tannenbaum said. “What Bill said was, ‘Our best player will be our best worker, and he’s going to make everyone on the team better because they’re going to see the ultimate professional.’

Now onto the best leadership quotes from Martin’s speech as well as Bill Parcell’s introduction of him:

1. “My impression of Curtis when he came to camp was this was going to be our running back.” – Parcells
2. “They way you pick a running back is that they either gain yards or they don’t gain yards.” – Parcells
3. “He has tremendouse compassion for his fellow-man.  He’s committed.  He’s very, very humble.  He’s the poster child for what the NFL’s supposed to be.  You maximize you ability.  You make a smooth transition into society.  And then you pass all those things along to other people.  That’s what this guy has done.” – Parcells
4. “The game is telling you that you belong in the game’s very elite.” – Parcells
5. “I was never a football fan.”
6. “I have never been able to identify with the love and passion that many of my colleagues have…I was forced to play football.”
7. “Maybe football is something God has given you to do all those wonderful things you want to do for those people.” – Martin’s pastor Leroy Joseph
8. “The only way I was going to be successful in this game called football is to play for a purpose bigger than myself.”
9. “Yesterday (after hearing Ralph Wilson) was my first day as a fan of football.”
10. “When I was five years old I remember watching him (my father) torture my mother.”
11. “I’ve watched my mother get punched in the face, get a black eye, and go to work with make-up on to provide for our family.”
12. “Mom, I’m so grateful I was there for you to take some of that pain out on.”
13. “When I was nine, my mother walks into my grandmother’s bedroom and found her murdered with a knife in her chest and her neck was broken and everything.  Eyes wide open.  Blood everywhere.”
14. “(Mom) if you go crazy, no one’s going to be here to take care of me.”
15. “That is the strongest individual I’ve ever known.” – Martin on his mom
16. “When I was 13, her sister who was like my other mother, got killed and died in an ever worse or more painful death than my grandmother did.”
17. “By the time I was 15, I had so many brushes with death.”
18. “I was too young to recognize that God was saving my life.”
19. “If you don’t do something with your life, from what I hear you’re going to wind up dead.” – Martin’s H.S. football coach Mark Wittgartner
20. “I have heard about people making deals with the devil, but I want to make a deal with you (Jesus).”
21. “God has upheld His end of the bargain.  I’m going to spend the rest of my life trying to uphold mine.”
22. “Football was shaping me as a man.  I was learning about life.”
23. “The NFL has taught me you are always replaceable.”
24. “There is a big difference between routine and commitment.” – Parcells
25. “If my kid can learn what I learned from this game, it’s worth the risk.”
26. “My greatest achievement in my life is helping nurture my mother from the bitter person she was to having a healthy mindset and forgive my father for everything he did to her.”
27. “It’s not what you achieve in life that matters the most but what type of person you become in the achievement that that matters the most.”
28. “I wish I could ask God to stand up because I’m not eating, I’m not breathing without God.”
29. “At my eulogy, I don’t want my daughter to talk about how many yards I rushed for.  I want her to talk about the kind of man Curtis Martin was.”

Curtis Martin, you are an incredible man.  What a great speech.

Subscribe here so future posts can be sent directly to your Inbox. Also, as a gift for doing so, I will also send you a FREE copy of my latest eBook 151 Leadership Quotes: Timeless Truths That Will Make You A Better Leader.