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Men's Basketball By Michael Westemeier, Ripon College Director of Athletics Communications

Ripon's 100 For 100: Donald "Red" Martin '30

**In conjunction with the Midwest Conference's Centennial Celebration, Ripon College has selected 100 Ripon student-athletes from the last 100 years in the MWC. This will be a regular feature with 2-3 new athletes revealed per week. This is in no way meant to be a ranking, rather a celebration of Ripon's 100 years in the MWC.**

RIPON, Wis. - Donald "Red" Martin '30 is Ripon College's first-ever All-American, receiving Fourth Team honors in 1929 as a quarterback for the Redmen football team. In addition to being team captain on the gridiron, Martin was also captain of Ripon's men's basketball and track & field teams. He was part of Ripon's inaugural Athletics Hall of Fame class in 1980.

As Ripon's quarterback, Martin led the team to a 6-3-1 conference record during his final three seasons, culminating in the program's first Midwest Conference Championship in 1929. That same year, Martin was selected by Notre Dame Head Football Coach Knute Rockne as part of the All-American Team.

One of the most influential early figures in Ripon athletics, it was widely believed that the College's team name "Redmen" was adopted because of Martin's nickname, and was commonly asserted that the team's name derived from "Red's men," A survey of The College Days does not show a direct link from "Red" Martin to Redmen (which appeared in some College Days headlines before Martin was a student.) During Martin's years, Crimson, Redmen, Doehlingmen, Doehlingites, the Reds and other phrases were used interchangeably, although the term Redmen appeared to gain in use over the term Crimson beginning during Martin's playing days. The College Days referred to Martin as the Ripon "Redhead" and used his nickname, Red, frequently--a common practice then. No published source has been found that directly links Red's men to Redmen, however, his popularity may have contributed to the increased use of the term.

After his playing days came to an end, Martin remained a fixture in Ripon College athletics, serving as Men's Basketball Coach for nine years from 1930-39. During his time as coach, Martin led the Redmen to a 56-79 record, which is currently the fifth-most wins by a head coach in program history. He left Ripon in style, coaching them to their first MWC Championship in program history in 1939, as the team went 10-4, including 7-2 in conference.


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CLICK HERE to view and read all of Ripon's archived '100 For 100' profiles, which will have each profile added to it once it is posted online.
 
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