2025 INDUCTEE – Hamil Martin

By David Elwell
The Decatur Daily

The 1959 Austinville graduate closed out his high school career as a three-time basketball state champion. Martin was an all-county, all-district and all-state guard selection for the Hornets led by Hall of Fame coach Earl Morris. Martin’s play in the 1959 state tournament earned him a scholarship to Troy University where he lettered four years in both basketball and baseball. He helped Troy win two conference championships while earning two all-conference selections in basketball. In 1963, Martin received the prestigious Kilpatrick Award that honors Troy’s top senior athlete.

It’s been 67 years since the Austinville Hornets last played a game, but the story of that great basketball program continues to shine bright.

The small rural school that was once located just outside the Decatur city limits won four state championships in seven years in the 1950s. The success started with legendary coach Joe Jones and continued with another legend in Earl Morris.

The Hornets’ success created a following. The fans packed the school’s small gym. Some games were moved to Decatur High to allow more fans to experience the magic.

Bus trips for out of town games turned into long convoys with the vehicles carrying fans tagging along behind.

Fans booked hotel rooms for state championship week in Tuscaloosa as soon as the season schedule was released.

The only thing greater than the school’s four state championship trophies were the number of great players the tiny community produced. Another one of those great players is Prentis “Hamil” Martin.

Martin, 84, starred at point guard on the school’s final state championship in 1959. He was known for lightning quick hands that could almost always find an open teammate for a basket.

“I liked that position because I could control the game and set up my teammates to score,” Martin said.

Martin averaged nine points a game in high school, but he took more pride in his ability to record an assist when a teammate scored. Martin’s career high for points in a game was 19 vs. Eva.

Teammate Wayne Bowling said that Martin’s quick hands meant his teammates had to always be prepared for a quick pass. Sometimes Martin knew a teammate was open before the teammate did.

“Everyone had a role and Hamil’s job was to find the open man,” Bowling said. “With those quick hands he could pass the ball in a flash.”

The Hornets entered the 1958-1959 season as a two-time Class 1A defending state champion. If the opportunity for a three-peat was not enough pressure, it was also going to be the program’s last season.

By the late 1950s, the growth of Decatur had finally swallowed up the community of Austinville. The majority of residents agreed to be incorporated into the city. Starting in the fall of 1959 the high school students would be attending Decatur High.

There may never have been a team in Morgan County that faced more pressure than the Austinville basketball team of 1958-1959.

“We didn’t want to be the team to break the streak,” Martin said. “The program had so much tradition that it only seemed fitting for it to end with a state championship.”

The state tournament format in 1959 was different from what it is today. There were just two classifications. Each classification had four districts with both the district champion and runner-up advancing to Tuscaloosa. Games were played at the University of Alabama’s Foster Auditorium that is still used today and seated 3,800 in 1959.

The eight-team format meant it took three wins to be state champion. One bad game meant an early trip home.

“I think we all felt a little bit of added pressure that season,” Morris said. “We had good kids on that team who worked a little harder that season to get that third win. It’s always good to coach good kids.”

The Hornets won the Morgan County Tournament, the District Eight Tournament and the Class A State Tournament almost without being challenged. The 62-51 win over Corner for the state championship trophy would be the closest of the 12 games in the three tournaments.

One of the highlights of the state tournament in those days was a giant display in Foster Auditorium in the shape of the state. A light marked a spot on the map where each of the eight teams were located.  When a team was eliminated its light would go out. The Austinville Hornets were good at turning out the lights and making their light shine bright to the end.

Martin will be the fourth player from that final Austinville state championship team to be inducted into the Morgan County Sports Hall of Fame.  The other three are Bowling, Mike Moebes and Jimmy Wallace. Moebes was the state tournament MVP. Martin and Wallace were all-tournament selections.

A big key to the team’s success was the guard combination of Martin and Wallace, who are cousins.

“I never coached a better two-guard combination in my 30 years of coaching,” Morris said. “They could handle the press, get the offense started and pull up and shoot.

“We had four guys who could really shoot the ball. We loved it when teams tried to play zone (defense) against us.”

Martin’s quick hands also made him a star on the baseball field at shortstop. The basketball/baseball combination worked to get him an opportunity to play both sports in college.

“After we won the state championship, me and Jimmy (Wallace) each got letters from the basketball coach at Troy,” Martin said. “He saw us play in the state tournament. Just on what he saw at the state tournament he offered us full scholarships to play both sports.

“I had letters from colleges in Tennessee and Georgia, but nothing real promising. I didn’t even know where Troy was, but something in my mind told me to go. It was a great decision. I signed without ever seeing the campus.”

Wallace passed on Troy and signed with Saint Bernard in Cullman, where he and Bowling became teammates again. Moebes played at Samford.

Martin would be in the starting lineup for his first game at Troy. It was a 104-101 win over Mississippi College.

“It was definitely a faster pace of play than what I was used to in high school,” Martin said. “We averaged 90 points a game that season.”

In Martin’s four years at Troy, the basketball team won two conference championships. The baseball team won two conference championships and advanced to the NAIA national tournament. Martin lettered four years in both sports.

In 1963, Martin received Troy’s prestigious Kilpatrick Trophy. It goes to the outstanding senior athlete based on sportsmanship, citizenship and athletic and academic ability.

“Receiving the Kilpatrick Trophy really capped off four of the best years of my life at Troy,” Martin said. “That was after six of the best years of my life at Austinville.

“We grew up together playing basketball at Austinville waiting for our time to come and it did in 1959. Everyone at Austinville was so close and we had a strong following. That’s what made our team so good.”

Martin graduated from Troy with a degree in mathematics and a minor in physical science. He spent one year as a teacher and coach at Danville before leaving to join the Space Race. He worked as a contractor for Boeing on the Saturn 5 booster that sent the first astronauts to the moon. He eventually retired after a long career with the Army Corps of Engineers.