Every athlete strives to leave a legacy. In 1982, Marty Lyons was well on his way to establishing that legacy on the football field. He was a consensus All- American defensive lineman at the University of Alabama, as he helped lead the Crimson Tide to a national championship, sealing the victory with a goal line stand that is still spoken about in revered tones by the Alabama faithful.
As a first-round selection for the New York Jets, Lyons was a member of the New York Sack Exchange, which was bring the Jets franchise back into the headlines. And then he would have a week that would change his life forever.
On March 4th, 1982, Lyons’ first child was born. Just four days later on March 8th, his father died suddenly from a heart attack at only 58 years of age. As Lyons went to help bury his father, on March 12th, he discovered that a five-year-old boy named Keith, to whom Lyons served as a Big Brother, died from Leukemia. “I began to ask myself what I did wrong in life that God would do this to me,” Lyons remembers. “Two months went by, and I couldn’t do anything to bring my dad or Keith back. So I started to think about what I could do to create a vehicle to keep my father and Keith alive and to help me move on and help other kids. God said to me, ‘I gave you the ability to play football, now what are you going to do with it?’ And that’s when I started the Marty Lyons Foundation to help terminally ill children.
It started small with Lyons and the help of a few friends and teammates granting wishes for kids whose were fighting against the odds to survive their medical conditions. After Lyons went back to speak to his high school coaches in Florida, a chapter was started to help children there. Over 30 years later, the foundation now has granted over 6,000 wishes for kids in 12 different states. The foundation has survived lean times, including the recession of 2009.
But this year, they had their largest golf tournament ever with over 280 golfers. And it was the first year ever that Keith’s mother came to the event to speak to the attendees. “For 30 years,” Lyons says, “Keith’s mother couldn’t accept it or talk about it. She didn’t know how to move on. Now, she’s seen the affect he’s had on people. He continues to live on out of a friendship that developed when he was three and I was 22. She was amazing. Her words just pulled at your heart.”
Lyons prides himself on having lived his life on a set of values that have made keeping a foundation alive and well for over 30 years, no small feat by anyone’s measurement, a manageable experience. Some of those values he traces back to his college coach, the legendary Paul “Bear” Bryant. “You didn’t appreciate what he did for you as a player until you left school,” Lyons says. “Coach Bryant would say, ‘There are four things you need to do. Be proud of your family. Be proud of your religion. Get an education. And then, let’s win some football games.’ That is how you have to win. You have to take these 30 strangers in the room that are freshmen and you need to treat them like family. They may not have the answer, but if you have faith, you may create an answer that will help you to move on.”
Lyons also remains in the public spotlight through his other work. As an executive at The LandTek Group, many amateur and professional athletes play on the playing surfaces that his company installs, including the fields at Met Life Stadium, the home of the NY Jets and Giants. He also has been the radio voice of the NY Jets for the last 11 years. “There was a time after my playing days were over that I wanted to coach with the Jets.” Lyons recalls. “I felt like I had a lot to teach others. I remember one day speaking to Herm Edwards years later about it. Herm said. ‘You’re already a coach. You’re coaching in life! That’s bigger than any football game.’ Football has opened a lot of doors for me. It has given me a great platform in one of the greatest cities in the world. It’s up to me to use that platform for something that matters.”
For more information on The Marty Lyons Foundation, please visit martylyonsfoundation.org.
