He then enrolled at Notre Dame, where he was part of a teams that won the college football national championship in 1946, 1947 and 1949 under head coach Frank Leahy.

Martin grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and attended the city's East Technical High School, where he was captain of the football and swimming teams.

[1][3] Coached by Frank Leahy, who had met and recruited Martin during the war on Iwo Jima, Notre Dame won the college football national championship by finishing first in the AP Poll in both 1946 and 1947.

[4][5] Martin switched from end to left offensive and defensive tackle for the 1949 season, when Notre Dame again finished first in the polls and won a national championship.

[8] Led by an offense that featured quarterback Otto Graham, fullback Marion Motley and ends Dante Lavelli and Mac Speedie, Cleveland had won four championships in the All-America Football Conference leading up to the 1950 season, the team's first in the NFL.

[9] With Martin playing at defensive end, the Browns finished the 1950 season with a 10–2 record and beat the Los Angeles Rams to win the NFL championship.

[13] The Rams scored a touchdown on their first play from scrimmage in the championship game, an 82-yard pass from Bob Waterfield to Glenn Davis.

[16] With the Lions, Martin helped fill a gap left by the departure of defensive end Jim Cain for service in the Army.

[17] Led by budding quarterback Bobby Layne and halfback Doak Walker, the Lions improved to 9–3 the following year, when Martin switched to left guard.

[21] Detroit finished the 1954 regular season on top of the NFL West and again faced the Browns in the championship game, but lost by a score of 56–10.

[27] He was selected for the Pro Bowl, the NFL's annual all-star game, in 1961 after leading the team in scoring with 15 field goals and 25 extra points.

[26] He returned to playing in 1963 as a kicker for the Baltimore Colts, spending one year there; he made 24 out of 39 field goals on the season, leading the league in the former category.