The youngest of four children, James Scott Martin was born in Narberth, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Philadelphia, to Frank Gartland Potter and Helen Dare Scott. His father died in 1931, and he was later adopted by Helen’s second husband, George Martin. His mother, a nurse who had trained at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, taught him early to be strong and that he was. His family had tough times from the start, but he helped them keep moving forward. He graduated from Oak Park High School. From Oak Park, a western suburb of Chicago, he got to Cubs games and became a lifelong Cubs fan. It is fitting that he last saw “his Cubbies” at Safeco Field in the summer of 2010, his last.
Jim played American Legion baseball in his teens, and when he was 15 played on a team that played in the national championships (in North Carolina). He believed fervently in being part of a team, and because he was not a starter on that team, he found his place in the dugout. He studied the game, cheered for his teammates, encouraged them and played his heart out--hard but fair. Later he became a lead-off hitter and always gave the pitchers a fit on the basepaths. He was an excellent center fielder, notching just one error in four years with the University of Montana Grizzlies and captaining the team his senior year.
Jim worked from a very early age, and often reminded his children of the days when he earned 25 cents an hour working at the local drug store. After a trip with a cousin, he fell in love with Montana and enrolled at the state university in Missoula (a school now known as the University of Montana). He pledged Phi Delta Theta, soon met a blue-eyed Alpha Phi from Seattle named Anne Swanson, and knew instantly that he was going to marry her. They wed in 1951, and Jim graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business in 1952.
After finishing an Air Force hitch, he went to work for the J. Neils Lumber Co. Jim quickly worked his way into sales, and so it went for 30 years selling lumber, plywood and doors. After living all over the United States, Jim and Anne returned to the northwest to live on Vashon and finish his career in Tacoma (by then Champion International, now International Paper). He chose well for his family and helped connect them with wonderful communities all over the country. In Jacksonville he immediately took up tennis and had a wonderful group that would play daily (and very competitively) when they got off work, no matter how hot or humid it was. In fact, he always would invite prospective new sales people to come play tennis, so he could see how graceful they were under pressure and how they responded to competition.
He found sports to be a way to keep his kids as busy as possible and around good people and out of trouble. He believed in hard work, and found swimming to be a tough sport that provided his kids with an outlet for energy, competition, reaching for goals and getting to sleep early. As a committed volunteer, he found time to be at hundreds of swim meets with a stopwatch in his hand on cold days, wet days, hot days just the same
After retiring in 1990 he quickly returned to baseball, his major passion all of his life. He loved getting to know the kids, and many people have individual stories about his life behind the plate. After several years of umpiring, he found that he wanted to be in the dugout with the kids and other coaches, allowing him to dispense more advice, which was his life calling. “Go for it,” “Keep your head down,” and “Take two, then hit to right,” were some of his standbys. He believed hard work will get you what you’re aiming for.
In his final years he slowed down a bit, but was still driven by sports and kids and grandchildren. He moved to Vashon to be close to all of his grandchildren and get the chance to see them grow up and watch their games and performances. When his wife, Anne, declined in health and could no longer live at home, he wanted to be by her side, and they often took rides around the island to watch the world go by. They would end up parked overlooking the beach at their house. They loved their Vashon home, especially the view of the water. Jim passed away peacefully in his reclining chair, asleep after looking at that view one last time. He was full of energy to the end, and his spirit will remain with the many people he touched in his life. The tale of his life would not be complete without a mention of canine creatures: he loved dogs, and his last, Sadie, was his constant companion.
(courtesy of Vashon Beachcomber)
