During the month of June, the Last Word On Sports NFL department will be compiling a Mount Rushmore for each NFL franchise. Only current or former players are eligible to be selected. Today, the New York Jets will be the focus.
New York Jets Mount Rushmore
Don Maynard
Maynard’s story is the feel-good tale you’ve probably never heard of. Originally drafted by the New York Giants in 1957 after playing both wide receiver and running back at Texas Western (now UTEP), he was cut after his rookie season. One year later he joined the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the CFL and supplemented his income by working as a plumber and teacher in the offseason.
It was in the Jets (then the Titans) inaugural season of 1960 that Maynard’s fortunes began to change. Head coach Sammy Baugh made him the team’s first-ever signing and that faith would be repaid big-time. The next decade would see Maynard establish himself as likely the greatest pass catcher in the ten-year pre-merger history of the AFL.
Maynard would finish with 11,732 receiving yards and 88 touchdowns in his 13 seasons with the Jets, both of which remain team records. The website pro-football-reference.com names Maynard the most valuable player in team history based on its approximate value scoring system. Though an injury limited his effectiveness in the Jets famous Super Bowl III upset win over the Baltimore Colts, his two touchdown, 118-yard performance in the AFL Championship game two weeks before was a crucial part of the team getting there.
Only 20 players were part of an AFL team during all ten years of its existence, including Maynard. He’s also one of seven in league history to have played with just a single team. Maynard is one of five Jets whose number is retired and he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1987.
Mark Gastineau
The early to mid-1980s saw the Jets turn into a defensive juggernaut, led primarily by defensive end Mark Gastineau and nose tackle Joe Klecko. The defensive front for Gang Green during this era would eventually be known as the “New York Sack Exchange” due to their ability to make opposing quarterbacks’ lives miserable.
Both players’ resumes are worthy of inclusion on the team’s Mount Rushmore. Klecko himself is the only one of the two to have his number retired by the franchise. That said, I have to go with Gastineau here and I hope to make a convincing argument below.
The Ardmore, OK native was a healthy combination of talent and flamboyance. During his early years in the league, he became well-known for his sack dance celebration after bringing down the quarterback. It was so wild and over-the-top that the NFL eventually banned it in 1984 as it was ruled unsportsmanlike. Obviously it wouldn’t be the last time in the league’s history that they would attempt to crack down on certain celebrations.
Between 1981 and 1986, the Jets made four playoff appearances in large part due to the dominance at the line of scrimmage established by their defense. Even though sacks weren’t made an official statistic until 1982, he had 20 the year before during a 10-5-1 season. His 22 sacks in 1984 remained the NFL single-season record until Giants defensive end Michael Strahan broke it 17 years later.
In his ten-year NFL career (all with the Jets), Gastineau would finish with 107.5 sacks (if you include those from the three seasons he played before sacks became official) which remains the franchise all-time record. He appeared in five consecutive Pro Bowls and he was named Pro Bowl MVP in 1984. Reggie White is the only other player in NFL history to lead the league in sacks in consecutive seasons.
Curtis Martin
If ever there was a player who stoked the seeds of hatred between two franchises, it’s Curtis Martin. It all goes down to one of the biggest free agency coups in league history when the Jets were able to sign the gifted running back away from divisional rival New England in the offseason leading up to the 1998 season.
Martin had already established himself as a future star in three seasons with the Patriots. He had rushed for over 1,000 yards during the regular season of all three and he also added 32 touchdowns. In the 1996 playoffs, he finished with 322 all-purpose yards (107.3 yards per game) and five touchdowns as the Pats appeared in only their second-ever Super Bowl, a 35-21 loss to the Green Bay Packers.
It was in East Rutherford where Martin transformed from mere star running back into an all-time great at the position. His longevity, despite carrying a heavy workload throughout his career, could be classified as legendary. In his 11 NFL seasons, Martin averaged nearly 21 carries per game. He became the oldest player in NFL history to win a rushing title in 2004 when he rushed for 1,697 yards at the age of 31.
Martin’s tenure with the Jets coincided with one of the most successful eras in franchise history. The team made four playoff appearances in his eight seasons with Gang Green, including a run to the AFC title game in Martin’s first year. Their 12-4 mark during that 1998 regular season remains to this day as the best ever in the team’s 55 years of existence.
When Martin retired in 2007, he finished with 14,101 yards on the ground, which currently ranks as the fourth-highest total in NFL history. Only Barry Sanders, Walter Payton, and Emmitt Smith amassed more rushing yards in their careers. His was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his second year on the ballot in 2012 and he had his jersey number retired during the Jets’ season opener that same year.
Joe Namath
“We’re going to win Sunday. I guarantee it.”
Those words uttered by Joseph William Namath ahead of Super Bowl III would cement the legend of “Broadway Joe.” A few days later, he would lead the team to a 16-7 victory over the 18-point favorite Baltimore Colts. It remains the biggest upset by Vegas betting line in the history of the Super Bowl. Namath was named MVP and in many respects, the result precipitated the eventual merger between the AFL and NFL a year later.
It could be argued that the historic victory over Johnny Unitas and the Colts in his fourth season as a pro was the apex of Namath’s career. Despite being the first quarterback to ever throw for 4,000 yards a season earlier (a feat that wouldn’t be achieved again until Dan Fouts did so 12 years later), he never exceeded 3,000 yards passing after the Jets Super Bowl winning campaign. Persistent knee problems would limit his effectiveness late in his career.
Though his 27,663 passing yards (57th all-time) and the fact that he finished with more interceptions (220) than touchdowns (173) aren’t exactly eye-catchers, his exploits in a long-suffering franchise’s only championship go a long way. It should also be noted that he was the first-ever quarterback (and one of only two all-time along with Joe Montana) to win both a college football national championship (Alabama, 1964) and a Super Bowl as a starter. Namath became enshrined in Canton, OH as a Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee in 1985.
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