By Patricia Sullivan
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 14, 2006
Edsel Bryan Martz, 81, a retired insurance underwriter and a hard-charging sandlot baseball coach whose teams practiced every day regardless of weather, died April 9 at his home in Arlington. He had Parkinson's disease.
Mr. Martz, whose personality was described in sports stories over the years as "crusty," "hard-nosed," "demanding" and "indefatigable," recommended that his players rap themselves on the shins with a bat to "get in the right frame of mind" to play ball.
Coaching in the old Clark Griffith League, he once incurred the displeasure of league leaders for scheduling back-to-back doubleheaders on a day when temperatures neared 100 degrees. "Compared to Martz," one opposing coach said, "Vince Lombardi was a damn sissy."
Unlike Lombardi, Mr. Martz was a Marine, and he spent his time in the Corps as the boxing and physical training instructor for its military police. He was a Golden Gloves boxer from the Boys Club of Southeast Washington, played football and baseball at Eastern High School (where he became known for punching an opposing pitcher who struck him out) and was on the boxing team that won the 1945 military championship.
Born in Hagerstown but raised in Washington, he graduated from Wilson Teachers College and attended graduate courses at George Washington University. Mr. Martz worked for the D.C. Department of Recreation in the early 1950s, then became chief of activities for the city of Arlington's recreation department. In the 1960s, he worked for Montgomery County's recreation department until he switched to insurance underwriting in 1965, retiring in 1973 from the State Mutual Association of Massachusetts.
He coached the freshman football team at Bishop O'Connell High School in Arlington, but his heart was in baseball. Mr. Martz played in the former Industrial League, for sandlot teams and in the Old Dominion League in Virginia. He put his own money into managing and coaching a team that he dubbed the Martz Christians, after he was "born again" in 1979 while listening to a television evangelist.
His players were not required to agree with his religious faith, but they were required to follow his commandments, such as "Don't chicken out on a hard grounder," or "A bruise on your body will disappear; one yellow stain on your heart will never disappear."
He reflected on the righteousness of playing ball on the Sabbath to Washington Post baseball writer Thomas Boswell. "I thought about it a long time," he said. "But you know God made man for the Sabbath, not the other way around . . . and I'm not making any money out of this. Anyway, I'm a Catholic and we have bingo on Sundays, so I figure the Catholics have researched it."
His teams won regional tournaments in the Clark Griffith League for eight years and played in All American Amateur Baseball Association tournaments in Johnstown, Pa., from 1965 to 1972. They were the Altoona, Pa., bracket champions in 1967, also winning the Eastern Seaboard championship in Maryland that year.
Despite his tough-as-spikes exterior, Mr. Martz was a man who rescued aimless youngsters, fielding many middle-of-the-night calls for help, his daughter said. Many of his players earned college scholarships and minor league baseball jobs after working with him for a few years.
"He never let you give up on yourself," said Shari Antonia Martz of Arlington. "He encouraged everyone to persevere, always do your best, be honest and never hoot and holler at opponents."
Mr. Martz had been named to the Home Plate Club's Hall of Fame in 1985 and won its John "Brick" Newman trophy. But he gave up coaching in 1987 as his health declined, soccer became more popular and baseball teams had to travel farther afield to play games.
He was a member of St. Agnes Catholic Church in Arlington, the Disabled Veterans Association and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He was also a volunteer for the 700 Club ministry.
Survivors, in addition to his daughter, include his wife, RuthMarie Malfeo Martz of Arlington; a son, Michael B. Martz of Brandon, Miss.; two brothers, Rodney D. Martz of Marietta, Ga., and Fred D. Martz of Vacaville, Calif.; a sister, Audrey L. Oliver of Lanham; two grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren.
He spoke with respect in December 1977 of an American University student who pitched 21 innings on a day when the temperature barely nudged the freezing point.
"He's no prospect. He knows he can't ruin his arm, 'cause he ain't got one. But he's a great kid. He refuses to come out. He's got guts," Mr. Martz said. "Don't tell me about them old-time pitchers. Iron Joe McGinnity never pitched no 21 innings on a day like this."