Hall of Fame
Having served 52 years in interscholastic athletics, Dave Martens was a former longtime New York high school coach, athletic administrator and 1984 president of the NIAAA.
Martens was a three-year All-Scholastic baseball player at Arlington High School in Massachusetts. He subsequently played both baseball and ice hockey at Springfield College, where he was named All-New England in baseball and participated in the 1955 College World Series. After playing for the Milwaukee Braves organization in 1958, Martens began his career in high school education, coaching and athletic administration at Rushford Central School. Six years later, he moved to Brockport Central School, and from 1973 to 1991, he was with Fairport Central School. Along the way, he coached both Rushford and Brockport to sectional basketball championships.
A longtime leader in athletic administration, Martens was President and co-founder of the New York State Athletic Administrators Association (NYSAAA), founded the NIAAA National Emergency Network in 1994 and directed the program for 15 years, and has been the NYSAAA liaison to the NIAAA since 1981 until his death.
Throughout his career, Martens was a staunch advocate for healthy lifestyles. From 1986 to 1998, he was president and founder of Operation Offense, Inc., an organization designed to keep student-athletes chemical-free, and he received a special commendation for his efforts in this area from the United States Department of Justice Drug Enforcement Administration in 1991. That same year, he received a Community Service Award from the Eastman Kodak Company.
Among his statewide recognitions, Martens was chosen New York State athletic director of the year in both 1981 and 1998. At the national level, Martens received an NIAAA Distinguished Service Award in 1986, an NIAAA New York State Award of Merit in 1990, an NFHS Citation in 2004 and the NIAAA Award of Merit in 2007. Martens was inducted into the Springfield College Athletic Hall of Fame in 1999, and into the Rochester Sports Legends/Frontier Field Walk of Fame in 2002. Dave was inducted into the inaugural classes of the NIAAA Hall of Fame (2009) and the NYSAAA Hall of Fame in 2014. In 2011 Dave was inducted in the NYSPHSAA Hall of Fame.
The NYSAAA honored Dave by naming the annual awards luncheon, the Dave Martens Hall of Fame and Awards Luncheon, after him.
Dave passed away in November 26, 2010.