James W. Martin, Jr.
Graduating class: 1982
Inducted into Hall of Fame: 2024
Hall of Fame Category: Athlete
Jim Martin was a three-sport standout and an all-star in two of them. He opened some eyes during the 1981 football season when he helped Fairhaven post its first winning season of the decade by scoring a trio of touchdowns while running out of the backfield for Coach Jack Risgin’s Blue Devils. All three came in Fairhaven victories and were the only three times Martin found the end zone in his varsity football career.
Jim’s first touchdown came in an 18-6 win at Dighton-Rehoboth to even Fairhaven’s record at 1-1. His other two came four games later - on Oct. 24 - in a 22-6 win at Greater New Bedford Voc-Tech - to improve his team’s record to 4-2. It was Martin’s senior year and Fairhaven wouldn’t have another winning record in football until the 1986 and ‘87 teams posted records of 7-3 and 9-1, respectively.
Martin’s impressive senior year would carry over to the winter track campaign where the high-flying athlete became a key member of the famed “Fairhaven Airborne” high-jumping team that fell one meet shy of shutting out every opponent. Along with teammates Art Leonard, Gary Hamel, Casille Fonseca and Jay Viera, Martin helped hold opposing jumpers scoreless in breezing through the competition heading into the Southeastern Massachusetts Conference Central Division title meet in Fall River in late February of 1982.
Among those impressed with the “Airborne’s” performance was head coach Steve Bender who, prior to that showdown meet, was quoted as saying: “I’ve been coaching for 12 years and a situation like this comes along once in a coaching career. It’s fun to be a part of it.” Jim was called the “technician ofthe group” after spending two previous summer track camps under the tutelage of world-class jumper Franklin Jacobs.
Fairhaven won its second straight SMC Divisional title by a comfortable 114-81 margin over second-place Durfee but failed to sweep the high jump event for the first time all season. Hamel won the event with a jump of 5-feet,10-inches but the only other Blue Devil to place was Leonard who tied for second place.
Martin and Fonseca did not compete in the event. Martin was busy extending his undefeated record in the 50-yard high hurdles with a winning time of 6.9 seconds. Heading into the Divisional Meet, Martin was second in team scoring and finished the season as the school’s recordholder in both the high jump and 50-yard high hurdles.
A week following the SMC Divisional Championship Meet, Jim appeared headed for a first-place finish in the Class D high hurdles competition at the State Meet but after hitting the final hurdle he lost his balance and stumbled across the finish line in seventh place.
The Fairhaven standout finished his high school career with an outstanding spring track season and was one of three players (Steve Guillotte and Mike Morgan were the others) who broke or tied school records. Martin also was the team’s best pole vaulter, soaring 12-feet, 4-inches to tie Fairhaven’s Al Whitworth’s record jump at the Brown Invitational Meet in 1930 and fell just short of Emile Dubiel’s school record vault of 12-5 ½ set at the same meet three years later.
After graduation Jim went on to Springfield College where he continued to play football.