Nick Martin, who taught French full time at Pasadena City College (PCC) for 44 years and was the men’s water polo head coach for 27 seasons, died March 25, 2019, after suffering a massive stroke 14 months earlier. He was 87.
Then known as Miklos Martin, he was a member of the 1952 and 1956 Hungarian Olympic gold-medal-winning water polo teams. In 1956, he was one of the many members of the Olympic champion team who defected because of political unrest at home. Martin defected to the United States and eventually received the first water polo scholarship offered by the University of Southern California (USC).
After graduating from USC in 1959, Martin earned a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Romance languages and literature from Princeton in 1961 and 1963, respectively.
He retired from PCC in 2011 as an associate professor in its Department of French. Men’s water polo was discontinued at PCC in the late 1990s, but the school continues with women’s water polo as one of its current 16 intercollegiate sports. One water polo PCC player Martin coached later played on the U.S. Olympic team, and another set a state scoring record.
Martin is survived by his wife, Chimene, and a daughter.
Graduate memorials are prepared by the APGA.