Blanche Martin

Blanche Martin was born on 16 January 1937 in Millhaven, Georgia. His family moved to Michigan in 1942, and he grew up in the Detroit area, graduating from River Rouge High School in 1955.

At River Rouge he was a four-sport athlete in football, basketball, baseball and track. He earned all-state honours in basketball and helped the school win two consecutive state championships, and he was president of both his class and the student government.

Martin enrolled at Michigan State in 1955 and lettered in 1956, 1957 and 1959 as a halfback and fullback under Hall of Fame coach Duffy Daugherty. On the 1957 national championship team he was second in rushing with 528 yards and five touchdowns and led the team with 913 all-purpose yards, including an 86 yard punt return for a touchdown against Illinois. He was named first-team Academic All-American and third-team All-Big Ten, and was an honorary captain of the 1958 Academic All-America team. Daugherty described him as "a fine runner, a good blocker, and a good defensive back."

He missed the 1958 season with a knee injury. Drafted in the fourth round, 43rd overall, of the 1959 NFL draft by the Los Angeles Rams, he chose to return to Michigan State for 1959, when he won the Potsy Ross Award as top scholar-athlete and the Danziger Award, and played in the East-West Shrine Game. He graduated with honour in 1959 with degrees in mathematics and physical science.

In 1960, the American Football League's first season, he played fullback for the New York Titans and then the Los Angeles Chargers. He then returned to Michigan State for graduate study in zoology and biochemistry, and earned his Doctor of Dental Surgery from the University of Detroit Dental School in 1967. He opened a practice in East Lansing that year and remained in practice for about 40 years.

In 1969 Martin was elected to the Michigan State University Board of Trustees, the first African American to hold the position. He chaired the board from 1974 to 1976 and served until 1984. He worked to increase minority enrollment and hiring at the university and was a co-founder of its College of Urban Development.

Martin was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity, which gave him its Martin Luther King Jr. Award for Outstanding Service in 1975. He loved golf at Michigan State's Forest Akers courses and remained a devoted supporter of the Spartans. He was married to Heidi and had a large family of children and grandchildren.

Blanche Martin died on 7 November 2026, aged 89. His obituary in the Lansing State Journal gave his home as Lansing, Michigan. Michigan State University Athletics announced his death on 12 November, recalling his part in the 1957 national championship team and his years as a trustee. The cause of death was not made public. He was survived by his wife, Heidi, his children, and many grandchildren.

Martin's life joined the playing field and the boardroom. He was among the earliest African American Academic All-Americans at Michigan State, and as the first African American trustee he pressed for greater access for minority students and staff during a period of change on campus. In 2006 the university's letterwinners honoured him with the Henry Bullough Varsity "S" Alumni Award for continuing service to Michigan State athletics.