VAN VLECK — Long before Sunday broadcasts and Superdome spotlights, Eric Martin’s football story started in Matagorda County, where a standout player could put a small community on the map one Friday night at a time.

Martin, born Nov. 8, 1961, in Van Vleck, went from Van Vleck High School to LSU and then into a 10-year NFL career, spending nine seasons with the New Orleans Saints before finishing with the Kansas City Chiefs.

At LSU, Martin arrived in 1981 and was moved early in his college career from running back to wide receiver — a switch that became the foundation for a record-setting run in Baton Rouge. 

By the time he finished, he had 2,625 receiving yards, a total that stood at the time as the Southeastern Conference’s career record. 

His best season came as a junior in 1983, when he produced 1,064 receiving yards and earned national recognition that LSU historical accounts and Hall of Fame materials describe as a milestone season. 

LSU later included him on its “Modern Day Team of the Century” as part of the program’s centennial recognition in 1993.

Martin entered the NFL as a seventh-round selection in the 1985 draft, picked by New Orleans. 

He became a fixture for the Saints through the late 1980s and early 1990s, a period when the franchise was finding its footing and reliable production mattered as much as highlight plays.

His peak season came in 1988, when he made the Pro Bowl after catching 85 passes for 1,083 yards and seven touchdowns, according to Saints Hall of Fame materials. 

The Saints Hall of Fame also credits him with another 1,000-yard season in 1989, when he posted 1,090 receiving yards, and a third 1,000-yard season in 1992. 

Over the long haul, the Saints Hall of Fame says Martin led the team in receiving yards for seven straight seasons from 1987 through 1993 and recorded 18 games with at least 100 receiving yards.

For Matagorda County, Martin’s career still reads as a straight line from local fields to major stages. Van Vleck is close enough to big-city football culture to feel its influence, but far enough away that national sports can seem like something that happens elsewhere. 

Martin made it happen from right there — turning “Van Vleck, Texas” into a hometown that appeared on college and pro rosters for a decade, backed by production that remains part of LSU and Saints history.