Carl Martin is a 1967 Kashmere Gardens Jr. Sr. High School graduate. He was a multi-talented student-athlete who excelled at football and baseball while at Kashmere, lettering four years in baseball and three in football ending his high school career with a total of seven varsity letters. He along with several childhood friends would share many athletic milestones, but none more gratified than being crowned the 1965 Baseball State Champs, which featured eight neighborhood friends (Hardy Street) and members of “The Ryon Sports Baseball Organization” under the leadership of Mr. Herman “Coach Boola” Smith. They fulfilled a bold prediction made by Mrs Grimsby their elementary school Principal, when she stated; that they would bring a championship title to Coach Henry Stevenson KG Rams before graduating. The following year they would finish state runner-up, spoiling their chance of winning back-to-back titles

One memorable football accomplishment Carl’s senior year was when they took down the Jack Yates Lions in the last seven seconds of the game on a Hail Mary pass from Allen Merchant to tight end John Sanford. That game crowned Kashmere City Champs, advancing to play Hebert High in Beaumont, Texas with the Rams coming out on the short end. After graduation, he accepted a baseball scholarship to San Jacinto Junior College. Carl subsequently married Myra Lewis, a Kashmere Gardens Jr. Sr. High 1968 graduate. They were blessed with two beautiful daughters, Felicia Humphrey (Clinical Social Worker) and Erma Martin-Hart (Attorney @ Law). In 1990, Myra passed away. Carl enjoys serving the needs at his New Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church under the leadership of Pastor David L. Smith. In 1996, Carl would remarry Micky Martin. He is a retiree of the Metropolitan Transit Authority and enjoys spending time with his grandkids. The photo below is Ryon Elementary principal Mrs. Grimsby and former students 1965 state baseball champs. L-R Floyd Jordan, Larry Washington, Bell, Johnny Miller, James Jackson, Carl Martin, Willie Jones.