Slater Martin

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

Martin was born on October 22, 1925, in Elmina, Walker County, Texas. His father gave him the nickname "Dugan" after a character in the Maggie and Jiggs comic strip; Martin did not realize his name was actually Slater for years. The nickname became "Dugie" when he went to Minneapolis to play for the Lakers. His grandmother got him interested in basketball and conducted review sessions after his high school games. He led Jefferson Davis High School to two state basketball championships in 1942 and 1943 at 5 ft 7 in and 130 pounds. He played college basketball at the University of Texas at Austin, serving in the Navy during World War II. He was known as a defensive specialist and a forerunner of the modern point guard. He played for the Minneapolis Lakers from 1949–56, winning four NBA championships, and was traded to the St. Louis Hawks in 1956, winning a fifth championship in 1958. He was second-team All-NBA in 1954-55, 1955-56, 1956-57, 1957-58, and 1958-59. He retired in 1960 as the oldest and smallest player in the NBA.

In Their Own Story

During the 1959 Western Division Finals between the Hawks and the Lakers, Martin was injured in the first game in a collision with Laker Ed Fleming. The Hawks claimed the collision involved Fleming using football-like tactics in tripping Martin and hitting him with an elbow. Lakers coach John Kundla, who had coached Martin for years, said he never ordered his players to use roughhouse tactics and that the collision and injury were unintentional, adding that Martin was 'one of the finest guys I know.' Martin did not play in the remainder of the series, and the Hawks lost the series two games to four. Hawks' coach Ed Macauley would not use Martin's injury as an excuse for the loss.

Reader's Guide

Martin was a seven-time NBA All-Star and five-time NBA champion. He was second-team All-NBA five times (1954-55, 1955-56, 1956-57, 1957-58, 1958-59). He was never first-team All-NBA according to the source. He did not lead the league in steals; the NBA did not track steals during his career. He retired years before the franchise moved to Atlanta.

Did You Know?

• Martin was the first NBA player to be on five championship teams.
• He was the shortest player in the NBA at times, standing 5 ft 10 in.
• Martin once told Bob Cousy he would break his nose if Cousy dribbled behind his back again; Cousy did not do it again.
• He held a 311 consecutive game playing streak for the Lakers.