St. Clair Mourns the Loss of Former Women’s Basketball Coach John Martel

St. Clair College is mourning the loss of former Women’s Basketball Head Coach and professor John Martel who passed away on July 17th at the age of 82.

In addition to being a professor at St. Clair College for 25 years, Martel took over as the Head Coach of the Varsity Women’s Basketball team in 1974 which was the second year of the program on campus. He began by coaching four seasons leading the Saints to no worse than 4th in the regular season and winning four provincial medals including two silver and two bronze. Martel’s best year was in 1975-76 when St. Clair went undefeated in the regular season capped by one of his silver medals at the championship event. As proof of his dedication to the school and the team he came back to coach the squad on short notice in 1986-87 which led to another 4th Place finish in the province.

Martel’s final record of 39-18 over five years is still the 3rd best regular season winning percentage of any coach in Women’s Basketball history at St. Clair. His players had great respect for him as a teacher of the game and he was a champion for furthering the equality of female athletes.

He continued to give back by volunteering at recent St. Clair championship events as well as supporting several varsity teams with his presence at home events.

St. Clair College and the Department of Athletics and Recreation say they would like to express condolences to the many friends and family that Martel touched during in his life.

Additional details and tribute opportunities for John Martel can be found online.