Page 261 - 1975 BoSox

254 ’75—THE RED SOX TEAM THAT SAVED BASEBALL
VIP lounge.”51A disgusted Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe wrote, “ e people who ruled over them and signed their paychecks had no idea how good and how special Martin and Woods were — none.”52 Woods went on to work for the USA cable network, while Martin became the new Red Sox play-by-play an- nouncer on WSBK-TV, a vacancy that had opened up when Dick Stockton left for CBS. Martin was teamed with analyst Ken “Hawk” Harrelson from 1979 to 1981 and Bob Montgomery from 1982 to 1987.
Martin began his Red Sox career on the same day as left elder Carl Yastrzemski, and in 1979 he called both Yaz’s 3,000th hit and 400th home run. On October 1, 1983, he was master of ceremonies for Yaz Day, honoring Yastrzemski on his retirement.
In 1985 Martin and Montgomery also joined the New England Sports Network (NESN), and were now broadcasting all 162 Red Sox games between the two networks. It was on NESN, on April 29, 1986, that Martin called Roger Clemens’ 20-strikeout perfor- mance against the Seattle Mariners, one of many highlights in that pennant-winning season:
“A new record! Clemens has set a major-league record for strikeouts in a game! Twenty!”53
On December 7, 1987, NESN and WSBK made changes.WSBK redMartinandkeptMontgomery, while NESN red Montgomery and kept Martin. WSBK management felt Martin didn’t draw out the strengths of Montgomery as an analyst and made repeated errors.54 e station also wanted someone “with a little more pizzazz.” Martin admitted, “Pizzazz. No, I’m afraid that just isn’t me.”55
Martin would be teamed on NESN with Jerry Remy, Montgomery with Sean McDonough on WSBK. Remy remembered Martin, as “the best possible guy to work with breaking in (to broadcasting) because he was so laid-back. He certainly helped me a lot.”56
“Red Smith used to say he loved ‘the music of the game.’ What a great line,” Martin once pondered. “ ere IS a music to it, whether it’s the rst crack of
the bat at Winter Haven, a full house on Opening Day, the murmuration of a meaningless game in July, or the buzz you feel at a World Series. ... You can still see something in almost every game that you’ve never seen before. at’s the beauty of baseball, I guess.”57
Martin was told by NESN a day before the 1992 season ended that he was no longer in their plans. “I don’t like to leave, and I don’t like to leave this way,” he said after his nal broadcast. “I wasn’t quite ready for it. ey said I hadn’t done anything wrong, but who knows what that means? I think they may be getting a more multi-purpose person in there ... and (someone who’s) younger.”58
Martin didn’t feel he was through but, needing hip replacement surgery, decided to retire at age 69. After years of traveling city to city, he cherished the old farmhouse he bought with his wife, Barbara, in Clarksville, Virginia. He enjoyed walking his dogs, gardening, bicycling, and taking pictures on his 15 acres that included an old schoolhouse.59 “ is was his home. He felt really at peace here,” daughter Caroline said. 60
Martin returned to Boston in 2000 for an emotional induction into the Red Sox Hall of Fame.“ e ovation wouldn’t end. e place just exploded. Until then, I don’t think he knew how much he was loved. He was a most modest guy,” remembered Joe Castiglione.61
Martin participated in the Ted Williams public memo- rial service at Fenway Park on July 22, 2002. He remi- nisced with Carl Yastrzemski and Peter Gammons, saying Williams “said he didn’t feel like a hero, but he was, along with Feller and Hank Greenberg. He was like an old John Wayne movie, but Wayne never played baseball.”62
Sadly, the next day tributes would be spoken in memory of Martin. During his trip home from Boston he was riding a shuttle bus at the Raleigh-Durham Airport when he su ered a heart attack and died on July 23, 2002, at the age of 78. He was cremated. Martin left behind Barbara, his wife of 51 years; a son Edwin”Rolley” Martin; two daughters, Caroline