Orange Beach will dedicate Danny Martin Field at Sportsplex
Orange Beach will dedicate Danny Martin Field at Sportsplex
Opening day for the Orange Beach Sports Assn. baseball and softball programs will be a special one as Field 1 will be dedicated to the late Danny Martin. Martin, who died this past August, served Orange Beach for more than 20 years in the Parks & Recreation Dept. and was the first manager of the Orange Beach Sportsplex. He retired from the City in 2016 but remained active in the sports tourism community in Foley. Martin was instrumental in the growth of the Orange Beach Sportsplex and the City will honor his legacy by dedicating Field 1 in his name, forever to be known as Danny Martin Field.
A native Mobilian, Martin first moved to Orange Beach in 1982 and was also an EMT and a member of the Orange Beach Volunteer Fire Department. In early 1994, he began his career in recreation, helping with the development of the first baseball park in Orange Beach. Giving local children a place to play ball was something that Danny took special pride in. This was the beginning of what would eventually become a youth sports boom for the city.
“In the spring of 2001, the Orange Beach Sportsplex was opened. At that time, there was nothing else like it in the area. This facility would ultimately be where Danny poured all his heart and soul. He wanted it to be the best facility anywhere and a place that all the area children and families could enjoy for generations to come,” his obituary states.
“There weren’t many days that you would go by the Sportsplex and not find Danny there working to ensure everything was right for everyone, even into the early hours of the next morning. To him, it wasn’t just a job; it was his passion to ensure it was the best in the land. His sons often refer to it as being his baby. He loved nothing more than seeing the park full of children playing the games that he himself loved so much growing up, and it also brought in thousands, of teams from across the nation to play in tournaments hosted there.”
Pictured: Martin bled Crimson Tide red; Martin pictured with his good friend Bob Baumhower, with whom he organized and directed an SEC women’s soccer invitational in Orange Beach for several years. The relationships with SEC coaches that emerged from those games led to Orange Beach securing a contract to host the SEC Women’s Soccer Championship Tourney back in 2003 and then every year from 2005 until 2015.