Fun Fact Friday: Martin Jr. and Martin Sr. are Only Two FSU Baseball Coaches to Lose First Game

His team hasn’t lost since, but Mike Martin Jr.’s tenure as Florida State head baseball coach got off to a rocky start.

In his debut last week, the Seminoles managed just three hits and blew a ninth-inning lead in a 3-1 loss to Niagara. Martin became just the second FSU head baseball coach to lose his debut.

The first? His predecessor and legendary father, Mike Martin Sr.

The older Martin actually lost his first two games to Miami before a 9-8 victory over the Hurricanes in his third career game in 1980. Prior to Martin, FSU head coaches were 6-0-1 in their first career game.

The only other Florida State head coach who did not win his debut was Jack Stallings. In 1969, Stallings’ Seminoles played Florida Southern College to a 5-5 tie.

Although the elder Martin lost his first game, things ultimately turned out just fine. Martin won more games in his sport than any head coach in any college sport ever.

Martin finished with 2,029 career wins, eight ACC titles and 17 College World Series appearances. The one knock on Martin was that he was unable to win a national championship. Perhaps “Meat” will be the one to buck that trend.

Mike Ferguson is the editor of The Daily Nole. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeWFerguson. Like The Daily Nole on Facebook. To pitch an idea, author a post or to learn more about The Daily Nole, email Mike Ferguson at Mike@TheDailyNole.com.