Cecil Francis "Zeke" Martin (September 26, 1924 – November 27, 2006) was a college and pro athlete, high school coach, businessman and mayor from Denton, Texas.
In 1944, Martin was a freshman football player at the University of Texas, backing up the legendary Bobby Layne on a team whose roster, like most school's, was thin due to World War II.
[5] The next week, with Layne back in the lineup, Martin threw a touchdown pass in a 20–0 win over Oklahoma, his last in a Longhorn jersey.
[6][7] Martin did not return to the University of Texas, but spent the intervening years involved in World War II and amateur sports.
[9] After four years, Martin was discharged from the Merchant Marines in 1947 and enrolled at the University of North Texas, where he would play football with future NFL Pro-Bowler Ray Renfro.
North Texas, fresh off its first ever bowl win, won the Lone Star Conference title for the second year in a row and went 10–1 in the regular season.
They beat the favored University of Florida, in Gainesville, and their only regular season blemish was a 12–0 loss to defending Southwest Conference champion Arkansas.
In that game they were down 13–6 late in the 4th quarter when Martin threw what would have been the game-tying touchdown pass, but the ball went right through the hands on the intended receiver, and the Eagles lost.
[21] And the following week against Houston, he again marshaled a 4th-quarter come-from-behind drive, throwing three straight complete passes, including the game-winning touchdown to put North Texas up 16–13.
[1] He played in two games for the team in September of 1951, but he was cut on October 1, the league deadline for trimming foreign-born players on the roster down to seven.
At one point, Couch Carl Voyles had considered Martin to be the team's #1 quarterback, but the need to limit Americans resulted in the cut.
[26] Bold means active When his pro football career was over, Martin put his master's degree in education to use and became a high school coach and teacher.
As mayor he helped repair streets in Southeast Denton, get I-35 expanded west to Fort Worth and build a new City Hall.
He founded Little League baseball in Denton, served as Director of the Chamber of Commerce, and organized a charity golf tournament for the UNT athletic department that bears his name, among others.
[1][6] In November 2006, Martin was driving alone to a retired football coach's luncheon when he was involved in a car accident that claimed his life.