James Martin was a multiple letter winner in football and basketball. “Delicate”, would never be used to described Martin. One look at his steely eyes was enough to know this was an athlete who had a ”toughness” about him. On the basketball court his tenacious, never give up defensive skills inspired his teammates and led the squad to being one of the leagues most difficult teams to play against. Loose balls and rebounds were never easy to gain control of when playing against a Martin led team. His aggressiveness against opponents was almost matched by his high expectations for his teammates. Those teammates thrived on Martin’s leadership and the team adopted the same traits; relentless effort, combativeness, attacking, and determined. Defensively, the Martin led round-ballers were the top defensive team in the conference. Football was James sport of choice. As tough as Martin was, and his nickname of “Crash” was well deserved, he had the rare ability to play with incredible emotional balance, keeping his aggressiveness in check when needed. As the quarterback he led a powerful offense with his smashing style of running. “Crash” was always ready to get the tough yards when needed. His ‘gift’ was the ability to balance the aggressiveness with the steadying effect he had on his teammates. They knew he wouldn’t fail them when they needed him most. Whether it was being “Crash” and getting the difficult yards when needed or being James and using his talented passing skills to keep the defense off balance, Martin provided the leadership skills necessary to bring a blend of unique personalities together to capture the school’s first conference football championship. For those efforts Martin was awarded 1st team All-Suburban recognition. In what shows as the true colors of James Martin and his leaderships skills, the award he treasured most was being voted captain by his teammates.
