Abe Martin
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- This article is about the football coach. For the fictional character "Abe Martin of Brown County", see Kin Hubbard
| Date of birth | October 18, 1908 | |
|---|---|---|
| Place of birth | Jacksboro, Texas | |
| Date of death | January 11, 1979 | |
| Place of death | Fort Worth, Texas | |
| Sport | Football | |
| College | Texas Christian University | |
| Title | Head Coach | |
| Overall Record | 74-64-7 | |
| Coaching Stats | College Football DataWarehouse | |
| School as a player | ||
| 1928-1930 | TCU | |
| Coaching positions | ||
| 1953-1966 | TCU | |
Othol Hershel "Abe" Martin (October 18, 1908 to January 11, 1979) was a college football coach.
Contents |
[edit] Early life
Born in Jacksboro, Texas, Martin attended Jacksboro High School and later Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, where he played football under head coach Francis Schmidt. He was part of TCU's first-ever Southwest Conference Championship team in 1929. Schmidt gave Martin his nickname after he related his style to that of a newspaper column of the day named "Abe Martin Says". He set conference records for blocking punts and recovering fumbles at TCU.
[edit] Coaching career
After graduating from TCU in 1932, he began his coaching career at El Paso High School in 1934, where he won two district championships. In 1936, he moved across the state to coach at Lufkin High School, where he compiled an amazing record of 66-10, with 4 district championships. He left coaching in 1943, but returned in 1944 to coach at Paschal High School in Fort Worth.
In 1945, he returned to TCU to coach football, and in 1953 was finally elevated to the head coaching position upon the retirement of Dutch Meyer. From 1953 to 1966, he coached the Horned Frogs to a 74-64-7 record, during which they appeared in the Cotton Bowl three times, as well as the Sun Bowl and Bluebonnet Bowl once each. He coached seven All-Americans at TCU, including Jim Swink and Bob Lilly.
After his 1961 team upset a previously-undefeated Texas, UT coach Darrell Royal famously described the Frogs as "cockroaches". Martin's casual response was that he had "never received so much criticism for winning a game."
After a disappointing 2-8 season in 1966, he resigned and became the school's athletic director, a post which he held until 1975. In 1972 he was elected to the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in Waco.
[edit] Head Coaching Record
| TEAM | YEAR | W-L-T | Bowl Game | Championships |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TCU | 1953 | 3-7-0 | ||
| TCU | 1954 | 4-6-0 | ||
| TCU | 1955 | 9-2-0 | Cotton Bowl | SWC Champions |
| TCU | 1956 | 8-3-0 | Cotton Bowl | |
| TCU | 1957 | 5-4-1 | ||
| TCU | 1958 | 8-2-1 | Cotton Bowl | SWC Champions |
| TCU | 1959 | 8-3-0 | Bluebonnet Bowl | SWC Co-Champions |
| TCU | 1960 | 4-4-2 | ||
| TCU | 1961 | 3-5-2 | ||
| TCU | 1962 | 6-4-0 | ||
| TCU | 1963 | 4-5-1 | ||
| TCU | 1964 | 4-6-0 | ||
| TCU | 1965 | 6-5-0 | Sun Bowl | |
| TCU | 1966 | 2-8-0 | ||
| CAREER TOTAL | 14 years | 74-64-7 |
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Dutch Meyer |
TCU Head Football Coach 1953–1966 |
Succeeded by Fred Taylor |
