Draft:Ben Martin
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This article was started from a graduate's recollections. Coach Martin's record, biography, and the specifics of his career need to be filled in from sourced material. The cadet perception sections benefit especially from firsthand contributions. New to USAFAPedia? See how to contribute.
Ben Martin was the head football coach at the United States Air Force Academy for an extended period spanning roughly 1958 to 1977.[citation needed] His tenure made him one of the longest-serving and most recognized figures in early Air Force Academy athletics, and the cadet wing's relationship with him — both affectionate and pointed — became part of the institution's culture in ways that outlasted his coaching career.
Biography
To be filled in. Should cover: birth date and place, college playing career (notably at the Naval Academy — Martin was a Navy man before he was an Air Force coach), military service, hiring at USAFA, retirement, post-USAFA life, death.
Coaching career at USAFA
Year-by-year record, notable wins, notable losses, bowl appearances, and rivalry game results need to be added from sourced material. The Falcons football historical records and contemporary press coverage from the Colorado Springs Gazette are likely the best primary sources.
Martin's tenure included several strong seasons — particularly in the late 1950s and 1960s — followed by a long stretch in which the program was widely perceived as having stalled. The cadet wing's response to this stagnation became part of Air Force Academy lore.
Cadet perception and culture
Martin was a popular and respected figure among cadets across his career — but the cadet wing did not extend reverence to the point of pretending the football program was stronger than it was. By Martin's later years, his offense had developed a reputation for predictability that cadets summarized in two famous chants.
"Up the middle, up the middle, pass, punt"
A cadet chant from the stands during football games captured the perceived monotony of the offensive playbook:
- Up the middle, up the middle, pass, punt
The chant was both a joke and a critique. It referred to the apparent sequence of every drive: two running plays straight up the middle, a pass attempt, and then a punt when the down-and-distance demanded it. The chant could be heard from the cadet section during stretches of unsuccessful possessions.[citation needed]
"Give 'em hell, Ben"
A second chant, often offered ironically, took the shape of a supportive cheer that turned on itself:
- Give 'em hell, Ben — give 'em hell, Ben — oh hell, give 'em, Ben
The phrasing's hesitation and the shift from "give 'em hell" to "give 'em, Ben" turned encouragement into resigned humor — a chant supporting Coach Martin while acknowledging the team's struggles.[citation needed]
These chants are documented here because they are part of the historical record of cadet football at USAFA in this era. They reflect the cadet wing's characteristic mode of expressing affection: through teasing, irreverence, and humor rather than through formal praise.
Place in Academy memory
Martin remains a figure remembered with genuine warmth by graduates of his era despite — and in some ways because of — the chants. Cadets who served under his football program describe him as a steady presence and a man of integrity whose record is most fairly evaluated against the unique constraints of coaching at a service academy: limited recruiting, small player pool, scholastic and military demands on cadets, and the realities of competing against larger civilian programs.
Graduates who knew Coach Martin — players who played for him, cadets who met him, those who attended his post-Academy events — please add memories and reflections.
Stories from cadets who knew him
If you played for Coach Martin, attended games during his tenure, or have a memorable encounter with him, please share.
This section awaits contributions.
