Edward Alfred Martin Sr. (June 18, 1925 – February 25, 2002) was an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach and

Negro league baseball The Negro leagues were United States professional baseball leagues comprising teams of African Americans. The term may be used broadly to include professional black teams outside the leagues and it may be used narrowly for the seven relativel ...

player.

Early years and baseball career

A native of

Allentown, Pennsylvania Allentown (Pennsylvania Dutch language, Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Allenschteddel'', ''Allenschtadt'', or ''Ellsdaun'') is a city in eastern Pennsylvania, United States. The county seat of Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, Lehigh County, it is the List o ...

, Martin graduated from

William Allen High School William Allen High School, often referred to as Allen High School or simply Allen, is one of two large, urban state school, public secondary education in the United States, high schools of the Allentown School District in Allentown, Pennsylvania. ...

, and served in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Following his service, he attended

North Carolina A&T State University North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University (also known as North Carolina A&T State University, North Carolina A&T, N.C. A&T, or simply A&T) is a public university, public, Historically black colleges and universities, historicall ...

, where he starred in baseball and basketball, graduating in 1951. Martin later earned a Master's Degree from

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

. He went on to play for the Philadelphia Stars in 1951 and 1952.

Coaching career

Following his baseball playing career, Martin took a high school basketball coaching position at Avery Normal Institute in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

, where he proceeded to win two state championships. From 1955 to 1968, he coached basketball at

South Carolina State University South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is the only public, historically black land-grant research university in South Carolina, is a member o ...

, and from 1968 to 1986, he coached at

Tennessee State University Tennessee State University (Tennessee State, Tenn State, or TSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1912, it is the only state-funded historically black university in Tennes ...

, amassing over 500 wins and numerous postseason appearances in over thirty years at the collegiate level.

Later years

In his later years, Martin was assistant basketball coach at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

, and associate professor of human and organizational development at Vanderbilt's

Peabody College Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development (also known as Vanderbilt Peabody College, Peabody College, or simply Peabody) is the education school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee ...

. He also served as scout for the

Minnesota Timberwolves The Minnesota Timberwolves (often referred to as the Wolves or T-wolves) are an American professional basketball team based in Minneapolis. The Timberwolves compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Divisio ...

. Martin was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1994, and has also been honored by the athletic halls of fame at North Carolina A&T State University,

, and Vanderbilt University. He died in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

in 2002 at age 76.

References

External links

* Edward Martin a
Negro Leagues Baseball Museum
* Edward Martin a

{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Edward 1925 births 2002 deaths African-American basketball coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in South Carolina Minnesota Timberwolves scouts North Carolina A&T Aggies baseball players North Carolina A&T Aggies men's basketball players Philadelphia Stars players South Carolina State Bulldogs basketball coaches Tennessee State Tigers basketball coaches Vanderbilt Commodores men's basketball coaches Vanderbilt University faculty United States Navy personnel of World War II African Americans in World War II African-American United States Navy personnel