Needlessly Obscure Players and the Cards that Immortalize Them, Part Veinticuatro: MarTay Jenkins…
There are some records that are broken because, well, your team simply sucks soil.
–No one wanted to break the ‘62 Mets 120-loss season, but last year the White Sox did just that.
–The Lions and Browns certainly didn’t want to usurp the ‘76 Buccaneers, but 0-16 records will do that.
–Leo Araguz probably wishes he had more than kicking the most punts in a single game as his only career highlight, but he punted sixteen times in a game for the Raiders against the Chargers in 1989.
And then, there’s MarTay Jenkins. When life gives you lemons…
An Iowan who made a name for himself playing wide receiver at Nebraska-Omaha in Division II, he was drafted by the Cowboys but was soon released. The Arizona Cardinals, who were more than happy with Dallas’s “sloppy seconds” soon picked him up, and he made their team.
And, oh, what a team.
The Cardinals were 30th in total defense, and surrendered 443 points en route to a 3-13 record, their worst record since 1953. So, with that many points surrendered, someone was getting a LOT of kickoff returns.
Enter MarTay. And the par-tay began. (Eww. Apologies aplenty.)
In only his second year in the NFL, MarTay (I’ve always LOVED that name–even Sports Illustrated gave him props for it) set the record for most kickoff return yards in a season. In fact, on December 10, 2000, MarTay set the season kickoff return yardage record, kickoff return average record and combined kickoff/punt return yardage in a season record in one single game. Oh–and the Cardinals lost to Jacksonville, 44-10, so the Cardinals gave MarTay every possible chance to break the records, which was nice of them.
Hey–someone had to set the records. MarTay was just on the right team at the right time with one of the worst defenses in NFL history. He did manage two more decent seasons with the Cardinals before injuries and wildly unrealistic contract demands ended his career. He did try out Arena Football and the CFL before calling it quits.
The 2000 Cardinal season was a serious lemon–but at least MarTay managed some lemonade.
