DEL MARTIN (Athlete, Class of 2017)

In Baseball, as an eleven-year-old Del Martin hit .593 and tied for the home run crown with six. And then a year later he again batted .593, this time winning the batting title, hitting an unprecedented ten home runs in twenty-one games while leading the Red Sox to the league title.
 

In the Junior Firemen’s League (13-15 year olds) fourteen-year-old Del hit one of the league’s most memorable home runs in a Rough & Ready playoff loss to the Headquarters team at Burr’s Hill. The towering drive landed on top of the left-center field hill side walk and came to a stop against the fence on Water Street.

At Warren High School, Del lettered in three sports, earning 11 out of a possible 12 letters during his career. He was a member of the 1961 Redskins Class C Basketball Champions. That spring he was named an All Eastern Division left fielder; the next two seasons he was a key part of the pitching staff, joining All Stater (and also a 2017 HOF inductee) Frank Szczepaniak on the mound in his final season.

In his last two football falls he was an All Eastern Division running back. Against Bristol he kicked a 39 yard field goal-both a Warren and state record at the time.

In his early twenties, Del joined the Golden Lounge softball team in the Warren Softball League. Also known as Hellew’s Café, Mr. T’s, and Old Ironsides, that team featured a Hall of Fame outfield (yes, all four of them) of Mert Caton, Butch Lombardi, Jim McMahon, and Del. While a Phys-ed. Teacher at Portsmouth High School, Del coached baseball and football for 15 years. He coached the Middletown Youth Football Team to 5 consecutive State Championships. He coached the Middletown Senior League All Stars to the Eastern Regionals-becoming the first RI coach to accomplish that feat.