Mike Martin - Hall of Fame Coach

By Jim Joanos

As Mike Martin begins his 28th season as Florida State University's head baseball coach he carries with him a new honor, membership in the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame. At a January, 2006, banquet in Orlando, Martin was inducted as a new member of that Hall of Fame. The award is arguably the highest that can be attained by a college baseball coach in the United States. The honor has been added to a long list of other accomplishments that have been attained by Martin including having coached his FSU teams in 12 College World Series, 27 consecutive regional tournaments, and won 15 conference championships. He began this season having led FSU to 1435 victories, the fifth highest number of all time amongst division one college baseball coaches. His overall record included only 493 losses and 4 ties which gave him an overall 74 per cent winning percentage. Of the 27 years that Martin has coached so far, never has he won less than 44 games. In 22 of the 27 years, he has won 50 or more games. During the years that FSU was in the Metro Conference (1977-1991), Martin was the Conference Coach of the Year six times. Since FSU joined the Atlantic Coast Conference (1992), Martin has been Conference Coach of the Year, four times. Of the 27 years that Martin has coached FSU, the team has finished the season ranked among the top 15 teams on 22 occasions. He has coached 64 All-Americans, including three Golden Spikes winners, Mike Fuentes, Mike Loynd, and J.D. Drew. The Golden Spikes Award is given each year to the most outstanding player in amateur baseball. Others who played for Martin at FSU include major leaguers Doug Mientkiewicz, Jody Reed, Paul Wilson, Deion Sanders, Steven Drew, Richie Lewis, Jonathan Johnson, and Luis Alicea, to name a few.

Martin was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, and grew up in that city. He played his high school baseball at Charlotte's Garinger High School where he also starred in basketball. Martin then played center field for two years at nearby Wingate (North Carolina) Junior College. Following junior college, Martin transferred to Florida State and played for the Seminoles under head coach Fred Hatfield. At FSU, he batted .354 over two years and played center field in the 1965 College World Series. Following graduation from FSU he played professional minor league baseball for three years before leaving to follow his dream of being a coach.

Martin came back to Tallahassee and began his coaching career there. He started off at the junior high school level coaching baseball as well as basketball in the Leon County school district. He coached briefly at the relatively new Tallahassee Community College. However, the job was surprisingly not in baseball but as the head basketball coach. He later got back into baseball coaching as the head coach at Godby High in Tallahassee for four years. During that time he worked on and obtained a Master's degree from FSU. In 1975, he became a Florida State University assistant baseball coach when Woody Woodward was the head coach. He coached with Woodward for four years and then spent another as assistant to Dick Howser who was FSU's coach for the 1979 season. When Howser left to become the manager for the New York Yankees, Martin was selected by a search committee and appointed by FSU President Bernie Sliger to the position that he has held ever since as skipper of the baseball Seminoles.

Martin gives back to the community on a regular basis. He is very much in demand as a speaker at civic club and booster meetings. An active member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, he is no stranger to the pulpit and is frequently called upon to give testimonials and sermons. He has been honored in numerous ways in addition to his recent hall of fame recognition. In 2004, the FSU Alumni Association awarded its highest award in recognition of service to the university, the Bernard F. Sliger Award, to Martin. In 2005, the baseball field at Dick Howser Stadium where FSU plays was named for him. Martin and wife, Carol, have three children, including Mike Jr., who played at FSU and now currently serves as an assistant coach on the Seminole baseball staff. There are three grandchildren.

Martin's goal for this season remains the same as it has each year that he has served as head coach at FSU, "to get the Seminoles back to the College World Series." In that endeavor we wish him the best of luck.