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Texas Thunder: My Eleven Years With The Dallas Cowboys
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 1, 2012
Harvey Martin was a colorful player on the most colorful team in football during their most colorful time in history. And Texas Thunder is a colorful reminder of the glory years of the Dallas Cowboys, when they had America's team, America's coach, America's quarterback, America's cheerleaders, and of course, America's fans flocking to America's stadium on America's favorite day for America's favorite game.
December 27, 2024
𝑻𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 is the type of autobiography that you hope former NFL football stars would release to the public. I say that because Harvey Martin (the book's author) was very honest in this 224-page book on how he saw the world from the time he was a child up until the end of 1985 (the book was published in late 1985 and released in early 1986).
For a good portion of my life I have heard about, read about, and seen film of former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Harvey Martin. But it wasn't until I read and then finished 𝑻𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 this year that I was able to get a true understanding of the man as a football player and human being. Martin discussed his insecurities, his triumphs, his downfalls, and more in this book which came out around the time he retired from the Cowboys.
One of the main things that impressed me about this book was that Martin was candid and up front about his feelings on certain Cowboys football players he played with, some of the players he opposed in his 11 years as a Cowboy (he couldn't stand former Washington Redskins running back John Riggins and he thought old 44 was overrated), and he even expressed his true feelings about some well-known front office people and coaches that were employed by the Cowboys. I found out through this book that his former linemate Ed Too Tall Jones was his best friend on the team and that big number 72 (Jones' number with the Cowboys) was also serious competition for Martin in regard to females in the metro and greater Dallas areas. I also learned from this book that he really, really liked and admired Cowboys long time head coach Tom Landry. It was just so many elements of Martin's life that he felt needed to be addressed in this book because he knew no one could tell his story or narrate his story better than him.
Another element of this book that got me was what he thought about his teammate linebacker Thomas "Hollywood Henderson. In this book he expressed his displeasure with the supremely talented linebacker quite a bit, as he felt that big ole number 56 (Henderson's number when he was a Cowboy) wasted his life and talent because he couldn't kick or didn't want to kick his drug habit. And this was the kicker, and you will understand why (or at least postulate about this subject) he was sooooooooo mad at Henderson. On page 106 of the book, Martin even thought that Henderson was or could have been a better linebacker than the great Lawrence Taylor. I don't agree with Martin on that, but Henderson could have been one of the greats at linebacker for sure if he would have worked hard and applied himself to his craft.
This book really perked up my attention or picked up for me when he started talking about his career at East Texas State (now Texas A&M Commerce). It was there that his passion for football really picked up because as he described earlier in the book, he never thought that he was going to be a football player, let alone a really good one as he blossomed into an All-American at ETSU starting in his junior year of 1971.
Through this book, specifically in chapter 15, I finally found out why Martin retired during the offseason leading up to the 1984 season and it was due to two factors. The game wasn't fun for him anymore and because Cowboys head of security Larry Wansley wanted him to take a urine sample as to see if Martin was on drugs. Martin felt disrespected and later announced his retirement officially.
In conclusion, 𝑻𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 is the type of book I wish Martin would have written and had published in the late 1990s or if he would have lived longer, in the 2020s. Why? Because it would have been nice to read in Martin's words how he tried to beat his drug addiction, how he could never settle down with just one woman, how he was received and treated by the Cowboys team administrations long after his retirement, what he thought about Cowboy defensive ends that came after him, and more. But all in all, I was happy with 𝑻𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 even if it was written 15 years before he died. I guess he felt the year 1985 was the right year for him to write a book and that was his prerogative.
For a good portion of my life I have heard about, read about, and seen film of former Dallas Cowboys defensive end Harvey Martin. But it wasn't until I read and then finished 𝑻𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 this year that I was able to get a true understanding of the man as a football player and human being. Martin discussed his insecurities, his triumphs, his downfalls, and more in this book which came out around the time he retired from the Cowboys.
One of the main things that impressed me about this book was that Martin was candid and up front about his feelings on certain Cowboys football players he played with, some of the players he opposed in his 11 years as a Cowboy (he couldn't stand former Washington Redskins running back John Riggins and he thought old 44 was overrated), and he even expressed his true feelings about some well-known front office people and coaches that were employed by the Cowboys. I found out through this book that his former linemate Ed Too Tall Jones was his best friend on the team and that big number 72 (Jones' number with the Cowboys) was also serious competition for Martin in regard to females in the metro and greater Dallas areas. I also learned from this book that he really, really liked and admired Cowboys long time head coach Tom Landry. It was just so many elements of Martin's life that he felt needed to be addressed in this book because he knew no one could tell his story or narrate his story better than him.
Another element of this book that got me was what he thought about his teammate linebacker Thomas "Hollywood Henderson. In this book he expressed his displeasure with the supremely talented linebacker quite a bit, as he felt that big ole number 56 (Henderson's number when he was a Cowboy) wasted his life and talent because he couldn't kick or didn't want to kick his drug habit. And this was the kicker, and you will understand why (or at least postulate about this subject) he was sooooooooo mad at Henderson. On page 106 of the book, Martin even thought that Henderson was or could have been a better linebacker than the great Lawrence Taylor. I don't agree with Martin on that, but Henderson could have been one of the greats at linebacker for sure if he would have worked hard and applied himself to his craft.
This book really perked up my attention or picked up for me when he started talking about his career at East Texas State (now Texas A&M Commerce). It was there that his passion for football really picked up because as he described earlier in the book, he never thought that he was going to be a football player, let alone a really good one as he blossomed into an All-American at ETSU starting in his junior year of 1971.
Through this book, specifically in chapter 15, I finally found out why Martin retired during the offseason leading up to the 1984 season and it was due to two factors. The game wasn't fun for him anymore and because Cowboys head of security Larry Wansley wanted him to take a urine sample as to see if Martin was on drugs. Martin felt disrespected and later announced his retirement officially.
In conclusion, 𝑻𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 is the type of book I wish Martin would have written and had published in the late 1990s or if he would have lived longer, in the 2020s. Why? Because it would have been nice to read in Martin's words how he tried to beat his drug addiction, how he could never settle down with just one woman, how he was received and treated by the Cowboys team administrations long after his retirement, what he thought about Cowboy defensive ends that came after him, and more. But all in all, I was happy with 𝑻𝒆𝒙𝒂𝒔 𝑻𝒉𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓 even if it was written 15 years before he died. I guess he felt the year 1985 was the right year for him to write a book and that was his prerogative.
March 25, 2025
Good football book- great player
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews