Hall of Fame
David Martens will be remembered as a true leader and the backbone to many professional athletic organizations across New York State and the nation.
For over 50 years he left a footprint on programs, organizations and athletic teams starting with Rushford Central School in 1958 where he was a physical education teacher, coach, and athletic director until 1964. He then spent tenures at Brockport Central School and Fairport Central School as the Director of Physical Education and Athletics while taking on more coaching duties and teaching grades 7-12. As a coach he led Rushford to a Class D Sectional basketball title and with Brockport he won a Class AA Sectional Basketball crown. He spent 34 years in three schools earning various recognitions including NYS Athletic Director of the Year in 1981 and 1986, and he represented Section V on the NYSPHSAA Officials Coordinating Committee and NYSPHSAA Action on Target Program before retirement in 1991.
Dave was best known as one of the founding fathers and first President of the New York State Athletic Administrators Association in 1981. Following the establishment of NYSAAA, he was successful in various initiatives including the development of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators Association National Emergency Network which aided athletic directors and their families in need of medical assistance anywhere in the country. With NIAAA Dave became the NYS liaison serving for 27 years and was appointed President of the NIAAA in 1984.
A graduate of Arlington High School in Massachusetts, Dave earned his Bachelors and Masters from Springfield College. He was a standout baseball player in high school and college and went on to play professionally for the Milwaukee Braves, then later scouted for the Houston Astros for eight years. He was inducted into the Springfield Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Rochester Sports Legends/Frontier Field Walk of Fame in 2002.