Tom Martin Papers

INTRODUCTION

This collection consists of scrapbooks relating to Tom Martin’s service as the general chairman of the 1981 Greater Greensboro Open (GGO) golf tournament. He worked for the Greensboro Planning Department and was very involved in his local community, especially with the Greensboro Jaycees, which organized the GGO. Some of the more interesting items in the scrapbooks include correspondence from golfers inquiring about playing in the tournament, name badges and commemorative pins from the GGO and other tournaments, and photographs of Martin and others at the tournaments and related events. Researchers interested in local sporting events and their impact on the community may find this collection useful.

Arrangement: This collection is organized in one series in original order. The series is: Scrapbooks, 1979-1981.

Provenance: This collection was donated by Tom Martin in December 2016 and assigned the accession number 2016.67.1.

Processing: The materials in these scrapbooks were removed from the original magnetic pages and rehoused with archival quality materials by various volunteers prior to 2021. The finding aid was prepared by intern Amanda McBryde in February 2023.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

Originally from Burlington, North Carolina, C. Thomas “Tom” Martin moved to Greensboro at the age of 8. He attended Curry School for grades 4-12 before moving on to Gardner-Webb junior college and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG), where he was one of the first male students and a member of the newly formed men’s basketball team. In 2015, he still held the record for rebounds in a single game, and he was inducted into the UNCG Athletics Hall of Fame in 2022. During his time at the school, he met Mary Hoyng, whom he later married.

After graduating with a degree in political science in 1970, Tom Martin began a 33 year career in the City of Greensboro’s Planning Department, for which he served as director from 1998 until his retirement in 2003. He also joined the Greensboro Jaycees in 1970, serving on the board of directors for several years and chairing numerous projects before being selected as the general chairman of the 1981 Greater Greensboro Open golf tournament. In 1980, the Jaycees made Martin a lifetime member for his contributions to the community. Other positions he has held in his commitment to community service include Tournament Director of the 1997 and 1998 NCAA’s Women’s Soccer Championships, president of the UNCG Alumni Association in 2002, chairman of the Carolina Theatre Commission, and member of the Greensboro Sports Council Executive Committee.

Biographical Sources: The biographical information was acquired from materials in the collection, a blog post titled “An Original Spartan – Tom Martin (Class of 1970)” (Spartan Stories: Tales from the UNCG University Archives, December 7, 2015), an article titled “Chief Planner Martin Retires: Tom Martin Has Served in Greensboro’s Planning Department for the Past 33 Years” (News & Record, November 28, 2003), and his page on the UNCG Athletics Hall of Fame website.

SCOPE & CONTENT NOTE

This collection consists of four scrapbooks chronicling Tom Martin’s time as the 1980 assistant chairman and 1981 general chairman of the Greater Greensboro Open golf tournament. Of particular interest are programs from the 1980 and 1981 GGO kickoff banquets, name badges and commemorative pins from the GGO and other tournaments, autographs from golfers who played in the 1981 GGO, and many photographs of Martin at the GGO in his green jacket and at other events during the documented two years. The scrapbooks also include newspaper clippings, correspondence, and other tournament-related items, such as programs and tickets. These materials are primarily in chronological order, with some items slightly out of place. Researchers interested in the Greater Greensboro Open golf tournament, the Greensboro Jaycees, or local sporting events and their impact on the community may find this collection useful.

SERIES DESCRIPTION

1. Scrapbooks.  4 album boxes (4 items).  1979-1981.

This series contains four scrapbooks that document Tom Martin’s time as the 1980 assistant chairman and 1981 general chairman of the Greater Greensboro Open golf tournament. The first scrapbook begins with a Greensboro Daily News article announcing that the Jaycees had chosen him as the next GGO chairman followed by letters of congratulations. Also of interest are articles about and items relating to the 1980 GGO and other tournaments. Articles from The Carolinas Golf Reporter, the Greensboro Daily News/Record, The Greensboro Record, and the Projector (the Greensboro Jaycees newsletter) discuss the lead-up to the tournament, celebrity appearances, and profits made by the event. Other items include the program from the GGO kickoff banquet, invitations to events relating to the tournament such as a coffee honoring players’ wives and a cocktail party for sponsors, an invitation to the Tournament Players Championship, a program for the 1980 Masters Tournament, name badges and pins from various tournaments, and photographs from all of the above.

The second scrapbook focuses on the aftermath of the 1980 GGO and the lead up to the 1981 tournament. Notable here are articles from The Carolinas Golf Reporter regarding the 1980 Cardinal Amateur and World Golf Hall of Fame tournaments, as well as items from the Roy Clark Celebrity Golf Tournament, the opening of the Tournament Players Club at Sawgrass, and the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, all of which provide context for the greater world of golf at the time. The scrapbook begins with articles from the Greensboro Daily News and The Greensboro Record discussing the costs of and profits from the 1980 tournament and the prize money for the 1981 tournament. Next are an invitation to Perry Como’s private cast party following his performance at a benefit show and tickets to that show. The end of this scrapbook chronicles the beginning of the 1981 GGO tournament season with the invitation to and program from the 1981 GGO kickoff banquet, as well as newspaper articles discussing the players and celebrity attendees at the tournament.

Of particular note in the third scrapbook are many local newspaper articles discussing results from each round of the tournament and autographs from players on scraps of paper. It also contains an invitation to the Tournament Players Championship Pro-Am dinner and other items relating to Martin’s participation in that tournament. Correspondence from potential players regarding invitations to participate in the GGO can also be found. As newspapers geared up for the tournament, they published articles about the 1981 souvenir bottle of bourbon produced for the tournament and about various players slated to participate. A Greensboro Daily News article about Martin taking six weeks off from the Planning Department to prepare for the tournament elicited a response letter to the editor from Dr. Ken Eiler, the 1980 chairman, defending Martin’s work as both a member of the Planning Department and as chairman.

The fourth scrapbook contains several newspaper articles about profits from the 1981 GGO, as well as an interview with Martin looking back on his time as chairman. It opens with a short biography of him from the Projector, then picks up where the previous book left off with newspaper coverage of the tournament results. Two further responses address the article about Martin receiving six weeks off from work to prepare for the tournament, one disparaging the city for using taxpayer money to pay for his work for the GGO, a private event, and the other supporting the decision because of the local significance of the tournament. After the tournament ended, Martin received many letters congratulating him on its success and thanking him for his work. The scrapbook closes with photographs of him taken during the tournament.

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