Tom Martin

Tom “Red” Martin, a former U.S. Olympian and New England ice hockey legend who went on to excel both in the business world and in the game of life, passed away on Thursday, July 27, 2017, at the age of 79.

Martin may be best known as a very successful businessman and philanthropist in the New England area, but in his youth sport was very important part of his life.

A three-sport standout athlete at Cambridge High and Latin School, Martin went on to play both hockey and baseball at Boston College in the late 1950s and early 1960s.

On the ice he was a two-time All-American defenseman  earning MVP honors and scoring the winning goal in the 1961 Beanpot Tournament championship. He was named the winner of the Walter Brown Award as the top U.S.-born college hockey player in New England in his senior season.

On the baseball diamond, Martin was described as a steady left-handed first baseman and played on the Eagle teams that reached the College World Series in 1960 and 1961.

He was later inducted into the BC Hall of Fame and his hockey jersey hangs in the rafters at BC’s Kelley Rink.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in 1961, Martin joined the U.S. National hockey team and he went on to serve as assistant captain for the 1964 U.S. Olympic team that competed in Innsbruck, Austria. Of note, Martin was Herb Brooks' roommate. There was no Miracle on Ice in 1965 though, as the American team finished in 5th place.

Following his hockey career, Martin spent five years as a CPA at Arthur Andersen & Co. in Boston before taking a job as a corporate controller at Cramer Electronics of Needham. He was subsequently promoted to national sales manager, and in 1979, after the company was acquired by Arrow Electronics, Martin took out a loan and purchased the company’s video operations division, which he renamed Cramer Productions.