Abe Martin

College coach infobox
Name = Abe Martin


Caption =
DateOfBirth = birth date|1908|10|18
Birthplace = flagicon|Texas Jacksboro, TX
DateOfDeath = death date and age|1979|1|11|1908|10|18
Deathplace = Fort Worth, Texas
Sport = Football
College =
Title =
OverallRecord = 74–64–7
CFbDWID = 1455
Player = Y
Years = 1928-1930
Team = TCU
Coach = Y
CoachYears = 1932-1935
1936-1942
1944
1945-1952 1953-1966
CoachTeams = El Paso HS
Lufkin HS
Paschal HS
TCU (Assist.)
TCU
FootballHOF =

Othol Hershel “Abe” Martin (October 18, 1908 – January 11, 1979) was a college football coach.

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.

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.

Head Coaching Record

CFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = TCU Horned Frogs
conf = Southwest Conference
startyear = 1953
endyear = 1966CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1953
name = TCU
overall = 3-7-0
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = —
ranking2 = —
championship =

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1954
name = TCU
overall = 4-6-0
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = —
ranking2 = —
championship =

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1955
name = TCU
overall = 9-2-0
conference =
confstanding = 1st
bowlname = Cotton
bowloutcome = L
bcsbowl =
ranking = 6
ranking2 = 6
championship = conference

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1956
name = TCU
overall = 8-3-0
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname = Cotton
bowloutcome = W
bcsbowl =
ranking = 14
ranking2 = 14
championship =

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1957
name = TCU
overall = 5-4-1
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = —
ranking2 = —
championship =

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1958
name = TCU
overall = 8-2-1
conference =
confstanding = 1st
bowlname = Cotton
bowloutcome = W
bcsbowl =
ranking = 9
ranking2 = 10
championship = conference

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1959
name = TCU
overall = 8-3-0
conference =
confstanding = 1st
bowlname = Bluebonnet
bowloutcome = L
bcsbowl =
ranking = 8
ranking2 = 7
championship = conferenceCFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1960
name = TCU
overall = 4-4-2
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = —
ranking2 = —
championship = CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1961
name = TCU
overall = 3-5-2
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = —
ranking2 = —
championship = CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1962
name = TCU
overall = 6-4-0
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = —
ranking2 = —
championship = CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1963
name = TCU
overall = 4-5-1
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = —
ranking2 = —
championship = CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1964
name = TCU
overall = 4-6-0
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = —
ranking2 = —
championship = CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1965
name = TCU
overall = 6-5-0
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname = Sun
bowloutcome = L
bcsbowl =
ranking = —
ranking2 = —
championship =

CFB Yearly Record Entry
year = 1966
name = TCU
overall = 2-8-0
conference =
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking = —
ranking2 = —
championship = CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name = TCU
overall = 74-64-7
confrecord = CFB Yearly Record End
overall = 74-64-7
bcs = no
poll = two

Legacy

Abe Martin Stadium in Lufkin, Texas is named for him.

External links

* [http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/MM/fmadx.html Texas State Handbook Information]