Former Michigan State running back Blanche Martin, a key member of the Spartans’ 1957 national championship team and later the first African American on the university’s Board of Trustees, died Saturday. He was 89.
Martin, born Jan. 16, 1937, in Millhaven, Ga., moved to Michigan as a child and starred in four sports at River Rouge High School before lettering for the Spartans from 1956 to 1959 under coach Duffy Daugherty.
The 1957 squad finished 8-1, ranked No. 3 in both the final Associated Press and United Press International polls, and was recognized as national champion by the Dunkel System, an NCAA-designated major selector.
That season Martin rushed for 528 yards, second on the team, and scored five rushing touchdowns. He also caught six passes for 80 yards and a score, returned six punts for 119 yards including an 86-yard touchdown against Illinois, and added six kickoff returns for 176 yards plus a 10-yard interception return.
Those efforts gave him a team-leading 913 all-purpose yards and third-team All-Big Ten honors.
One standout outing came Nov. 16 against Minnesota, when he gained 134 yards on just six carries in a 42-13 victory.
Daugherty called him “one of our most valuable players all year – he’s a fine runner, a good blocker, and a good defensive back.”
Martin’s teams went 3-0 against both Michigan and Notre Dame during his career, which ended with 928 rushing yards and eight touchdowns. He also punted for the Spartans.
A knee injury sidelined him for the entire 1958 season. The Los Angeles Rams still selected him in the fourth round of the 1959 NFL draft (43rd overall), but he returned to East Lansing for his senior year, earned the Potsy Ross Award as the top scholar-athlete, and played in the East-West Shrine Game.
He signed with the New York Titans for the American Football League’s inaugural 1960 season. After another knee injury and his release, he joined the Los Angeles Chargers, appearing in 10 games including the league’s first championship contest, a 20-16 loss to the Houston Oilers.
Martin graduated from Michigan State in 1959 with degrees in math and physical science and earned Academic All-America honors. He later completed graduate work in zoology and biochemistry before receiving his Doctor of Dental Surgery from the University of Detroit in 1967.
He practiced dentistry in East Lansing for nearly 40 years. In 1969 he was elected to the MSU Board of Trustees, becoming the first African American to hold the post. He served until 1984 and chaired the board from 1974 to 1976.
Martin helped increase minority enrollment and hiring on campus and was a co-founder of the College of Urban Development. He remained active in Spartan athletics and received the Henry Bullough Varsity “S” Alumni Award in 2006.
He is survived by his wife, Heidi, and numerous children and grandchildren.
