Marty Lyons

Marty Lyons is a former professional football player in the NFL who can best be recalled wearing number 93 as the defensive tackle for the New York Jets. Playing professionally for a decade (1979-1989), Lyons was a consensus first-team All American and was the SEC Defensive Player of the Year immediately before his professional debut. While Lyons was born in 1957 in Takoma Park, Maryland, he grew up in Florida and went on to play football for the University of Alabama. As a Crimson Tide, Lyons played a large contribution to the 1978 National Championship and to the 1979 Sugar Bowl. He was impressively selected as the fourteenth overall pick in the 1979 NFL Draft right out of college. In the midst of his career, Lyons was named the Walter Payton Man of the Year in 1984 due to his passion for charitable work and his outstanding commitment not only to the sport of football, but to his morals and values, as well. Due to a series of unfortunate events that Lyons was faced with throughout his life, he was inspired to establish the Marty Lyons Foundation that was aimed at working with terminally ill children and providing them wishes. Lyons has been inducted into several Hall of Fames but is most proud of his work with the Marty Lyons Foundation.