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Charles Martin, the former Green Bay defensive end who body-slammed Chicago Bears quarterback Jim McMahon into the turf and ended his season in 1986, has died. He was 46.
Martin, who was from Canton, Ga., and played for the Packers, Houston Oilers and Atlanta Falcons during his five-year NFL career, died Sunday at Memorial Southwest Hospital in Houston, a hospital spokesman said.
"He probably died from complications of his renal (kidney) disease," Dr. Charles Aramburo, Martin's surgeon, told Houston television station KRIV on Tuesday. "We are still waiting for the results from the autopsy which will be definitive."
The link with our current assistant coach?
Joe D'Alessandris, known to his teams as "Coach D," was a coach at Western Carolina when Martin joined the team. When D'Alessandris was offered a full-time position at Livingston, Martin was the first player he recruited.
"What a sensational man. I was fortunate to be able to be around Charles," said D'Alessandris, now a coach at Georgia Tech. "He rubbed off on us and we rubbed off on him."