Mike Martin, record-setting Florida State baseball coach, dies after fight with dementia

Mike Martin – Florida State’s legendary baseball coach whose consistency and all-time wins record are unequaled – died Thursday less than three years after being diagnosed with Lewy body dementia.

Martin was 79.

Martin is synonymous with FSU baseball over 47 years as a player, assistant coach and head coach, elevating the program into a national powerhouse and perennial contender despite never winning the College World Series.

When Martin retired after his 40th season at Florida State in June 2019, he stepped down as the winningest coach in college sports with a record of 2,029-736-4.

In October 2023 in an interview with the Tallahassee Democrat, Carol Martin – Mike’s wife of 58 years – shared Martin’s dementia diagnosis for the first time publicly. She also revealed her husband had been initially diagnosed with the disease in the summer of 2021, two years into his retirement.

Carol described how her husband experienced changes in attention, alertness and behavior. The family worked with physicians and specialists to identify strategies that help Martin’s symptoms. He was a patient at a Tallahassee memory care center and had been under hospice care since mid-January.

She said his thoughts would often turn to the diamond, adding that he would sometimes share baseball instructions with her.

“We laugh at some of the things that transpire – though it is a tragedy,” Carol said. “You try to laugh to lift your spirits. In his mind at these times, he’s okay and still doing what he loves. We are hoping in his mind he’s happy and at peace.”

Bill Smith, one of Martin's closest friends and chairman, president and chief executive officer of Capital City Bank Group, said Thursday, "What a great man, what a great life. He is one of my best friends. We are blessed to have known him."

Mike Martin Sr. led FSU baseball to NCAA tournament all 40 years as head coach

Martin, nicknamed “Eleven” for his jersey number, made a record 40 consecutive postseason appearances, won eight Atlantic Coast Conference tournament championships and appeared in 17 College World Series games, including his final season.

Martin was recognized with multiple national honors and awards, and the field at Howser Stadium was dedicated in his name in 2005.

On Jan. 5, Martin was recognized as the recipient of the 2024 ABCA/Wilson Lefty Gomez Award at the organization's national convention in Dallas. The award is presented to an individual who has contributed significantly to the game of baseball.

Martin’s Florida State teams won 40 or more games and made the NCAA tournament every year he was the Seminoles’ head coach starting in 1980 when he took over for Dick Howser.

Martin balanced his passion for winning with graciousness.

“To say nothing was overlooked, there’s no way,” Martin told the Democrat in 2019. “I always want to feel like I gave each player everything I had. You always want to feel you gave it your best shot.”

Martin's first victory as Florida State coach was 9-8 at Miami Feb. 24, 1980; his last and 2,029th was 1-0 over Arkansas in the CWS June 15, 2019, in Omaha, Nebraska.

“He has built a legacy and tradition there that is pretty unmatched," former FSU All-American infielder (1999-2000) Marshall McDougall told the Democrat in 2018. "It’s impressive what he’s done and how long he has done it. He has had tons of great players come through there. I think that’s what you remember the most, all the people who have helped contribute. You remember all the good times."

Buster Posey, Jack Nicklaus, others send FSU's Mike Martin good luck messages via video

Mike Martin's legacy includes Buster Posey, J.D. Drew among 4 Golden Spikes winners

More than 70 players Martin coached at FSU, headlined by Buster Posey, J.D. Drew, Paul Wilson, Mike Loynd, Mike Fuentes, and Doug Mientkiewicz, were named All-Americans. Eight were named national player of the year, four won the Golden Spikes Award and two won the Dick Howser Trophy.

Posey, a Georgia native and three-time World Series champion while he played with the San Francisco Giants, has called Martin the "best college baseball coach in history" and said, "it was just a dream come true to just have the opportunity to put on that uniform."

Martin’s son Mike Martin Jr. coached under his father at FSU for 22 seasons before succeeding him as head coach for three seasons. Current FSU coach Link Jarrett also played and coached under Mike Martin.

During his opening 2024 press conference on Jan. 26, Jarrett unveiled a dedicated space to Martin in the program's renovated tradition room at Howser Stadium. The field at the stadium was named after Martin in 2005.

"This is the best that ever was to put on a uniform. The number of wins, they way he carried himself," Jarrett said of Martin. "I saw Carol and Mike last week (mid-January). Phenomenal human beings. (He) means the world to me, the program. And I wanted to have a dedicated space for him."

Martin passed the late Augie Garrido (1,975) for the college baseball wins record with a 3-2, 13-inning win at No. 9 Clemson on May 5, 2018.  On March 9, 2019, Martin became the first coach to achieve 2,000 career wins with a 5-2 victory over Virginia Tech in the second game of a doubleheader.

“One time after we beat Texas in the College World Series, we came out and shook hands after the ballgame," Mike Martin Jr. told the Democrat in 2018. "I think one of the highest compliments was when (Texas head coach) Augie Garrido said, ‘Mike, you’re so good that you beat me with your guys and you could turn around, take my team and beat me with my team.’ I was taken aback by that. I thought that was a pretty cool compliment when one of the greatest of all-time says you’re so good you can do it in many different ways.”

Martin's Seminoles appeared in two national title games in 1986 and 1999, losing to Arizona 10-2 and Miami 6-5.

FSU's 1970 team under Mike Stallings also reached the title game, losing to Southern Cal in 15 innings.

Mike Martin Sr. and wife Carol Martin were integral parts of Tallahassee community

Martin, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, and Carol arrived in Tallahassee as newlyweds in 1964 – and never left.

"We fell in love with Florida State from day one,” Carol Martin told the Democrat in 2018. “When we came to Tallahassee on your honeymoon – seriously, we did – from the moment he stepped on campus, he just loved everything about Florida State. To this day, he’s such a competitor that he wants Florida State to win every race, every game, every match. He’s such a die-hard fan at heart.

"Having gone to Florida State, he’s proud of that. He breathes garnet and gold, that’s for sure.”

Martin played center field for the Seminoles (1965-66), hitting .354 and helping the team reached the 1965 College World Series. (He missed the series with a broken arm).

After Martin played minor league baseball for three seasons, he returned to Tallahassee as a coach and teacher in the Leon County school system. He also was the basketball coach at Tallahassee Community College (1970-71) for one season.

Martin returned to Florida State as an assistant coach in 1974 under Woody Woodward. When Woodward departed before the 1979 season, the school hired former FSU All-American Dick Howser, who had been an assistant with the New York Yankees. When the Yankees hired Howser as their manager in 1980, Martin stepped in as the Seminoles’ coach.

HIs legacy will certainly endure, even though Martin chuckled and admitted his start might not have suggested success. Martin and FSU dropped its first two games in 1980 at Miami, 10-0 and 4-3 on a throwing error.

“That particular night – the first game I ever coached as a head coach – I’m coaching third base," Martin told the Democrat in 2018. "We did not get a man to third base. We got beat 10-0 (by Miami). I’m sitting there after the game thinking, “Is this what I signed up for? This is not really what I thought it would be.’”

Forty years later, Martin left an indelible mark on the game and players.

"For me, when I got to Florida State, it was really just making me feel like I was able to compete," former FSU All-American outfielder (1999-2001) John Ford-Griffin told the Democrat in 2018. "He made me buy into my game more than anybody. He made you believe that you were good and he brought that out of you. You want to play for people like him. Wanting to play for him, wanting to win for him and how he impacted my game.”

In the classroom, Martin’s players were selected to the academic team of distinction 72 times since its 2006 inception, while leading the ACC six times in 13 years. Three of Martin’s players earned ACC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors on five occasions, while his teams were twice honored with the ACC Sportsmanship Award.

Away from the baseball field, Martin was an avid golfer.

“I want to be remembered as a guy that did it right, that put education first, that made sure that guys understood what’s expected of them, that they’re coming to Florida State to get a degree first,” Martin told the media following the 2019 CWS.

“We’re not a school that just wants baseball players. We’re a university that demands that you do what you’re supposed to do in the classroom, and that’s give it your best shot.”

Christianity also became an important element of Martin’s life in the mid-1980s.

“I reassessed my life from the standpoint of what was really important,” Martin told the Democrat. “I tried to get more involved with learning about Christianity.  I had been raised as a Christian, but my relationship with the Lord was more superficial. 

“As a result of my studying…I became more relaxed, and more sensitive to the players.”

The closest Martin ever came to leaving Florida State for another coaching opportunity was in 2001,when the University of Georgia wanted to interview him.

“I’ll tell you how close I was. Had I gone up there, I know I would have taken it,” Martin told the Democrat in 2018. “I didn’t go because I said I don’t want to leave this place. This is home. This is my university. I love Florida State. I don’t want to go anywhere else. I know that they would have almost doubled my salary. That wasn’t going to be the reason that I was going to leave.”

“I thank God that I stayed.”

Martin and Carol have three children (Mary Beth, Melanie and Mike, Jr.) and four grandchildren.

All About Mike Martin

BORN: Feb. 12, 1944 in Charlotte, North Carolina

DIED: Feb. 1, 2024

HIGH SCHOOL: Garinger High School, Charlotte, North Carolina

ALMA MATER, YEAR: Florida State, 1966

COLLEGIATE BASEBALL EXPERIENCE: 1965-66, Florida State, center field; 1963-64, Wingate Junior College, center field

HONORS: 1966 All-District Selection 1963-64 Junior College All-American

WIFE: The former Carol Dellinger

CHILDREN: Mary Beth, Mike Jr., Melanie

GRANDCHILDREN: Hannah Elizabeth, Tyler, Thomas Joseph (T.J.) & Lexi

COACHING: Basketball – TCC (1970-71); Godby High (1971-74). Baseball – FSU (assistant, 1975-79); FSU (head coach, 1980-2019).

RECORD: Overall: 2029-736-4; Conference/NCAA Tournaments 142-83