As co-captain of the
1954 MJC Knights football team, he was voted Most Valuable Player. That same year, he was
also named Most Valuable Player in the Basket Bowl at Chowan College--MJC’s first
bowl appearance--winning 12-0. In his final football season at MJC, he was selected as
first team Junior College All-American (halfback) by the Williamson National Football
Rating System (based on consensus opinion of the nation’s college athletic
departments).For two consecutive years, Gallagher took the Best Boxer award, in
addition to a Golden Gloves in the 165-pound class at the Fifth and Sixth Annual
Intramural Boxing Tournaments.
Martin was named to the NJCAA Region XV All-Star Basketball Team in 1955.
As a center fielder for the baseball team, Gallagher’s batting average was over
.400 both years he placed.
MC sports played an important role in the life of Martin Gallagher--not only on the
diamond, in the ring, and on the court--but also in another match. In 1952, he met Margie
Clark, the homecoming queen. The two were married in 1954. They were one of two married
couples attending MC. Gallagher’s gratitude to MC extends far beyond the sports and
academic opportunities he experienced here.
After a stellar athletic career at MC, Gallagher received a football scholarship to
George Washington University, where he received a bachelor’s and a master’s
degree. After college, Gallagher returned to the high school where he
graduated--Northwestern High School in Prince George’s County. He enjoyed a 33-year
tenure as athletic director and football and baseball coach, and retired in 1990. Last
year he was inducted into the Maryland State Association of Baseball Coaches Hall of Fame.
