TJCCAA/NJCCAA Region VII

Inductee 1991

         Jack Martin was born in Warren County, Tennessee. Martin attended Northwest Mississippi Junior College for two years and received his Bachelors degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville and Masters degree from Middle Tennessee State University.       

    In high school, Martin played both baseball and football. In football he was the runner-up for most valuable player in the Central Tennessee Conference both his junior and senior years.       

     In junior college he received 2 letters as an outfielder in baseball and 2 in football as quarterback of the Northwest Mississippi team.       

     Martin spent some 10 years in management with the Sears organization before getting involved in college athletics. During his year as a graduate assistant in baseball at Middle Tennessee State University the Blue Raiders under the leadership of Head Coach Jimmy Earle won the school's first Ohio Valley Conference Baseball Championship in 1968. Being associated with the program opened the door for Martin at Jackson State Community College where in his 1st year as Head Baseball Coach, his team was runner-up in the TJCAA. That same year his fellow coaches elected him Coach of the Year.  In 9 years of coaching baseball at Jackson State Community College, Martin compiled a record of 201 wins and 89 loses for a winning percentage of 69%.       

     Martin is now in his 23rd year at Jackson State and has been Director of Athletics for the past 15 years. During that time Jackson State Community College has qualified several teams for the state and regional tournaments in baseball and men’s and women’s basketball. The highlight was in 1982 when the women a basketball team won the state and region and finished 3rd in the national tournament under Coach Marvin Williams. Won another state championship and was regional runner-up the previous year.  In 1988 under Coach Jim Swope the Jackson State women’s basketball team was runner-up in both the state and regional tournaments.       

     In the early 80’s Martin added golf to the athletic program and was also coach the only two years in which JSCC competed in golf. During those two years Jackson State Community College was state and regional runner-up and qualified 2 players each year for the national tournament.       During Martin’s 9 coaching years at JSCC he had 20 All-Western Division and All-Conference baseball players on his team. 2 of his players were All-Eastern District and one was All-American. 7 of his players signed professional baseball contracts.       

     Martin has served on many committees through the years in the TJCCAA. Some of those were the Executive Committee, Chairman of the baseball committee and most recently a member of the committee to establish a permanent location for the TJCCAA Sports Hall of Fame.       He maintains his membership in the American Baseball Coaches Association, the National Association of College Directors of Athletics and the National Alliance of 2 year College Director of Athletics.       

     Martin and his wife Sue have two children, David of McMinnville and Kathy who resides with her husband Charlie Mueller in Jackson. David and his wife Elaine have two sons, David Jr., 11 and Matt, 7. Translated, this means Jack and Sue have two fantastic grandsons who love sports.

Jack Martin

Junior College/ Community College Achievement Award