John “Paul” Martha, a former All-America halfback at Pitt, Pittsburgh Steelers first-round draft pick and executive with several pro sports franchises, died Feb. 4, 2023, at age 80.
E.J. Borghetti, Pitt’s executive associate athletic director/communications, said Martha’s time at the University was a “very telling preview of the remarkable successes he would go on to have in life. At Pitt, he was an All-America halfback, starring for one of the greatest teams in school history, the 1963 squad that went 9-1 and finished third in the country. He used his Pitt education—both from the classroom and the football field—as a great springboard."