Jan 7, 2005 5 min read

HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. (AP) – He came so close so many times before, Curtis Martin started to wonder whether he would ever win a rushing title. Bigger names always surpassed him: Priest Holmes in 2001, Edgerrin James in 1999, Emmitt Smith and Barry Sanders in 1995. So while more popular players took the headlines, Martin kept working, kept setting lofty goals, kept believing that it would be his turn one day.

So on a tarmac in St. Louis on Sunday, the Jets’ veteran finally got the news he always wanted to hear. He beat out Shaun Alexander for the NFL rushing title. By 1 yard. His mom, monitoring the Seahawks-Falcons game, kept Martin updated while the team waited on an airplane to head back home.

“That’s the one individual accomplishment I’m most proud of in my entire career,” said Martin, preparing to lead the Jets in their wild-card game against San Diego on Saturday.

There have been plenty achievements for the 31-year-old Martin, in his 10th NFL season. But this one seems most impressive, and could cement his place in the Hall of Fame. The quiet, humble back from Pittsburgh came into training camp in the best shape of his career, eager to prove he had plenty left in his legs.

He set three goals for himself: to run for 1,700 yards, win the rushing title and make the Pro Bowl. He was so obsessed with reaching 1,700, he made that his security code to get into the building at Jets headquarters. Unfortunately for Martin, he finished just 3 yards short of the mark.

Nonetheless, he ran for a career-high and team-record 1,697 yards, shattering his old mark of 1,513 to beat out Alexander by the slimmest margin in NFL history. The next closest was 7 yards in 1990, when Sanders topped Thurman Thomas.

Martin also became the oldest player to lead the NFL in rushing, surpassing Marion Motley, who did it in 1950 at the age of 30. And he also made his fourth Pro Bowl and his first All-Pro team.

“I knew that if I put the work in, if I sowed the right work, I believed that I could reach what I felt,” Martin said. “This year was living proof of that. It is something that I am grateful for, but at the same time humbled by, simply because at the age I am, to have the ability and the mind-set to be consistent and perform the way we have this year, I am very humbled by it.”

Martin generally has stayed out of the spotlight. There were always flashier backs, such as Smith and Terrell Davis. There were always craftier, more elusive backs, like Sanders. There were always bigger backs like James.

None of that ever bothered Martin, known more for his deliberate running style. He never asked for the headlines, never starred in commercials, never graced the cover of video games. Martin wanted just one thing: consistency.

So he became one of the best in NFL history in that area, too, joining Sanders as the only players to start their careers with 10 straight 1,000 yard seasons. In addition to everything else he did this season, Martin quietly moved up the NFL career rushing list into fourth place, passing Hall of Famers Eric Dickerson, Tony Dorsett, Jim Brown, Marcus Allen and Franco Harris.

“It couldn’t happen to a better player in our league,” Jets coach Herman Edwards said. “You’re talking about a class guy, a guy that’s under a radar screen for most of his career. I’m glad I got to watch it and be a part of it. To watch him achieve that, I think it’s outstanding.”

Though Martin might not have the attention of the nation, he certainly has it from the NFL.

“He’s a great one,” Chargers coach Marty Schottenheimer said. “I’ve always admired him. He goes about his business and there’s not a lot of fanfare and there’s not a lot of pomp and circumstance. All he does is bring it to you every Sunday.”

Martin surely will have to bring it in the playoff game against San Diego. He ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns in the first meeting, a 34-28 victory. The Jets should stress the running game even more, because quarterback Chad Pennington still has a sore right shoulder, and Martin is their best hope at taking the crowd out early and helping the Jets play ball control.

If they can advance, Martin will be closer to the one thing missing from his resume: a Super Bowl victory.

So he again will help his team in the only way he knows: working hard and, as always, without much fanfare. Only this time, he will have the NFL rushing title in hand.

“It is no surprise why we are here, it is because of what Curtis has done and what he has accomplished this season,” center Kevin Mawae said. “It is a great accomplishment, and it is something he is going to remember for a long time.”