A funeral mass was offered May 13 at St. Joseph of The Palisades, West New York, for Carl Martin, former director of Information and Publications for the New York Knickerbockers, and a former sports columnist and assistant sports editor for the Hudson Dispatch of Union City. He died on May 10.
A native of West New York, Martin enjoyed a lifetime of community involvement, highlighted by his role in directing that municipality’s Little League baseball team to the World’s Championship finale vs. Houston at Williamsport, Pa., in 1966.
He became associated with Madison Square Garden in 1956, when he joined the Promotion Department. Prior to the outset of the 1968-69 season, he became a member of the public relations staff of the Knickerbockers and had remained with the Knicks organization ever since.
In what was to become a lifetime involvement in athletics, Martin was a sports columnist and later Assistant Sports Editor of the Hudson Dispatch in Union City.
Beginning with a scholastic sports beat, he later covered intercollegiate games and then moved to the professional level, where he chronicled the Jersey City Giants of the International League and frequently covered World Series baseball games involving the New York Yankees and Brooklyn Dodgers. While on the interscholastic beat, he also served as a member of the Selections Committee, for both the North-South Cage Classic in Murray, Ky., and the Eastern States Catholic Invitation Tournament at Newport, R.I. His credits included a number of North Jersey Press Club awards and citations.
Shortly after joining the Knickerbockers, Martin became “backup” to John Condon behind the MSG public address microphone. His work as a P.A. announcer, which had begun on the interscholastic and intercollegiate levels, quickly expanded during the early 1970s. In this capacity, he served to keep arena fans informed for two seasons with the World Hockey Association’s New York Raiders and Golden Blades. In 1974, he became identified as the public address announcer for the New York Rangers. In addition to handling the public address microphone for occasional Knickerbocker and college basketball games (including the ECAC Holiday Festival, National Invitation Tournament and Big East Championships), Martin served for more than a decade on the P.A. at the U. S. Open Championships at the National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, and has served in the same capacity for many other tennis tournaments, including Davis Cup matches, Avon Championships, the Virginia Slims and the Volvo Masters at the Garden.
His hockey microphone work included the world-wide televised “Challenge Cup” series between the National Hockey League stars and the U.S.S.R. team in 1979. He was also behind the microphone for the only “tie” game in the history of basketball – that which paired the Chinese National team vs. Rutgers University at the Garden in 1979.
Formerly licensed by both New York and New Jersey State Athletic Commissions, he served as ring announcer at many boxing bouts, which included dozens at the Felt Forum in the Garden. Member of the original Madison Square Garden Hall of Fame Selections Committee (for Rodeo), Martin was a co-founder and past president of New Jersey Basketball Writers Association, and holds lifetime membership as a past president of the New Jersey Sportswriters Association.
Married to the former Dorothy Vecchione, of West New York, he was the father of two sons, Kenneth, and Dennis and wife, Phyllis and grandson, Ryan. Services arranged by the Leber Funeral Home, Union City.
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