Legendary Florida State baseball coach Mike Martin Sr. dies at 79

The news of Mike Martin Sr.’s passing on Thursday was announced by Florida State.

Here is the FSU release:

Mike Martin, Florida State baseball’s head coach for 40 seasons and the winningest coach in college baseball history, died Thursday, February 1, 2024, after a three-year battle with Lewy body dementia. He was 79 years old. 

Martin is survived by his wife of 59 years, Carol; children Mike Jr, Melanie and Mary Beth; and grandchildren Hannah Elizabeth, Tyler, Thomas Joseph and Lexi. 

Martin capped his 40-year head coaching career at Florida State in 2019 with his 40th NCAA Tournament appearance, his 40th winning season and his 17th College World Series appearance, tied for the most all-time. Martin is the all-time winningest coach in NCAA history, for any sport, finishing his career with a 2,029-736-4 record. 

A man whose uniform number – 11 – was universally substituted among FSU faithful, Martin is a member of the Florida Sports Hall of Fame (inducted 2005), the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame (2007) and his home-state North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame (2018). After his retirement in 2019, he was inducted into the Florida State Athletics Hall of Fame and the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association named its Coach of the Year trophy in his honor. 

Just last month, Martin was recognized by the ABCA with the Lefty Gomez Award, presented to “an individual who has distinguished himself amongst his peers and has contributed significantly to the game of baseball locally, nationally and internationally.” 

Born February 12, 1944, in Charlotte, North Carolina, Martin graduated from Garinger High School before spending two years at Wingate Junior College, where he first met the former Carol Dellinger. Accompanied by Carol, the pair moved to Tallahassee when Martin enrolled at Florida State as a junior. After helping lead the Seminoles to the 1965 College World Series and the NCAA Tournament in 1966, Martin earned his undergraduate degree in 1966 and his Master’s degree in 1971. 

Mike and Carol married and remained in Tallahassee for the next 60 years. 

After coaching stints at Cobb Middle School, Godby High School and Tallahassee Community College, Martin was hired by Woody Woodward as FSU’s assistant coach prior to the 1975 season. After four seasons with Woodward and one under Dick Howser, Martin was promoted to the head job in the fall of 1979 after Howser was hired away to manage the New York Yankees. 

Martin earned the first of his 17 College World Series appearances in 1980. He took the Seminoles three more times in the 1980s, seven times in the 1990s, twice in the 2000s and four times over his final decade, including his final year in 2019. 

Florida State won 19 conference titles under Martin’s leadership and he was a 13-time conference Coach of the Year. He was the National Coach of the Year in 2012 and 2019. 

Martin had 20 players selected in the first round of the MLB Draft and 60 former players reached the Major Leagues. Eight former players were named National Player of the Year with four – Mike Fuentes, Mike Loynd, J.D. Drew and Buster Posey – recognized with the Golden Spikes Award, college baseball’s Heisman Trophy. 

Winning alone, however, did not define Martin’s brilliant career. The 2001 team got a first-hand reminder of that prior to a series at Stanford. Leaving the San Francisco airport, Martin and assistant Chip Baker gained control of the team’s charter bus after the driver suffered a fatal heart attack, safely guiding the bus to the side of a busy freeway. Martin and Baker were presented with the university’s prestigious Westcott Award for their bravery in saving the lives of players and staff. 

Martin’s passion for the game and working with young people made him a popular public speaker throughout the country. His involvement through the years with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes provided another avenue for reaching out to others. 

In August 2017, Martin delivered the commencement address for Florida State’s summer graduates, the first time in his career he was so honored. 

In 2004, Martin was honored by the two schools he attended as an undergraduate. Wingate University (then Wingate Junior College) bestowed upon him the honor of Distinguished Alumnus. He was also presented the Bernard F. Sliger Award for Service, named after Florida State’s 11th president, which is the highest honor accorded by the Alumni Association.  

In January of 2015, the Martin Family, longtime supporters of Tallahassee Memorial HealthCare’s children’s center and newborn intensive care unit, were honored as the children’s playroom at TMH was named the “Mike Martin Family Playroom.” 

A public celebration of life will be held on Mike Martin Field at Dick Howser Stadium. More details will be provided as they become available. 

*ALSO SEE: Corey Clark: Florida State loses a giant with the passing of Mike Martin Sr.

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