Miklós (Nick) Martin (June 29, 1931 – March 25, 2019) was a Hungarian

water polo Water polo is a competitive sport, competitive team sport played in water between two teams of seven players each. The game consists of four quarters in which the teams attempt to score goals by throwing the water polo ball, ball into the oppo ...

player who competed in the 1952 and

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December ...

. He was born in

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

. He died in Pasadena, CA.

Biography

Martin was part of the Hungarian team which won the gold medals in the 1952 and the 1956 tournaments. He played two matches, including the "Blood in the Water" semi-final match against the Soviet Union, and scored five goals. His name is often left out of the 1956 Olympics because he defected to the United States immediately after the games, along with numerous fellow Olympians, and the communist party of Hungary at the time omitted him. In all, the U.S. State Department granted asylum to 34 of the Hungarian athletes. In June 2012, the magazine Sports Illustrated published a detailed account of the Hungarian defections that resulted from the Soviet Union's involvement in Hungary. The magazine itself played a key role in facilitating a secret plan to bring defecting Olympians to the United States. When the Hungarian delegation touched down in Darwin, Australia, Martin, one of the only athletes who read English, found a newspaper in the transit lounge and shared its reports. He became one of the primary spokespeople for the group. As the best English speaker among the Hungarian Olympians who defected, Martin found himself quoted so often that he feared he would be punished as a ringleader if he were to return to Hungary. So, with an art history master's degree from the University of Budapest, he enrolled at the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in ...

but played only one semester of water polo because he found the sport there "too Mickey Mouse." He was the first person to receive a water polo scholarship to USC. Instead he buckled down, earned his B.A. in French in three terms and, after earning a Ph.D. in Romance languages at Princeton on a Woodrow Wilson scholarship, became a professor. "The U.S. of that period was a land of endless opportunities," he says, "but my teaching career has been like an avalanche, straight down -- from Princeton to USC to Pasadena City College." Although retired from full-time teaching and over 80, he was still an adjunct professor of French at PCC and swam a mile each day. "PCC has a gorgeous pool," he says, "and I have the key." In 2006, Colin K. Gray and Megan Raney directed " Freedom's Fury", a film about the 1956 Olympic water polo semi-final match between Hungary and the U.S.S.R. Nick Martin appears as himself. In 2012, Martin participated in a video interview held at PCC's Aquatic Center as part of an in-depth feature by CNN/SI on the 1956 Hungarian Olympic team. Martin retired as an associate professor in the French department of Pasadena City College. He was a full-time faculty member for 44 years, and spent 27 years as head coach of the Pasadena City College men's water polo team.

References

*http://www.pasadena.edu/news/newsItem.cfm?ID=4439
sportsillustrated.cnn.com
*http://www.ebeijing.gov.cn/feature_2/Beijing_Sister_Cities/Helsinki/Featured_Pictures_of_Helsinki/t917883.htm *http://www.americanhungarianfederation.org/FamousHungarians/images/vizilabda_1952_lg.jpg *http://www.americanhungarianfederation.org/FamousHungarians/images/vizilabda_1956_lg.jpg *http://www.h2opolo.be/geschiedenis/WP_1952_OS.html *http://www.waterpololegends.com/2009/04/1952-helsinki-golden-hungarian-team.html

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Miklos 1931 births 2019 deaths Water polo players from Budapest Hungarian male water polo players Hungarian emigrants to the United States Olympic water polo players for Hungary Olympic gold medalists for Hungary Pasadena City College faculty Princeton University alumni University of Southern California alumni Water polo players at the 1952 Summer Olympics Water polo players at the 1956 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in water polo Medalists at the 1956 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1952 Summer Olympics 20th-century Hungarian sportsmen 21st-century Hungarian people

Biography

See also

References

External links