Red Wolf Report to Be Operated in Memory of Frank “Scooter” Martin
Red Wolf Report will move forward in memory of Frank “Scooter” Martin, a devoted Arkansas State supporter, Christian, businessman and friend whose influence helped inspire the creation of the publication.
Martin died in April following a courageous battle with cancer.
To know Frank was to know love, laughter, faith and a good time. He embodied what a Christian man should be, but he also represented what it meant to be a die-hard Arkansas State Red Wolves fan.
His faith was not something he merely talked about. It was something he lived through the way he treated others, welcomed people into his home and responded whenever he believed God was calling him to help someone.
That same passion was evident in his support of Arkansas State.
Martin’s business, Mobile Radiology, provided X-ray services at Arkansas State home football games for longer than many around the program can remember. That role gave him access to the sidelines, but he refused to spend games standing there.
Martin believed that if he was going to support the program, he should do so from his seat as a season-ticket holder.
He knew Arkansas State’s athletic staff had his telephone number and would contact him if his services were needed. Only then would he leave his seat, walk to the sideline and enter the locker room to do his job.
For Martin, being close to the action was never more important than being in the stands supporting the Red Wolves.
His connection to Arkansas State also changed the course of my life.
Frank Martin is the reason I cover Arkansas State athletics.
In 2006, while I was still serving in the U.S. Army, Frank and I began communicating through private messages on an Arkansas State message board. He eventually sent me tickets to a game.
Neither of us knew at the time what that simple gesture would become.
That trip helped turn me into an Arkansas State fan. My love for the university and its athletic programs continued to grow, and in 2008, I began covering the Red Wolves.
Without Frank, there would have been no Red Wolf Report.
That is why Red Wolf Report will now be operated in his memory.
What began with a simple act of kindness — sending tickets to someone he had met through a message board — led to years of coverage, friendships, road trips and memories that will never be forgotten.
Over the years, Frank and I traveled together to numerous Arkansas State road games and bowl games. We shared hotel rooms, restaurant tables, long drives and countless conversations.
Many nights ended with us sitting on couches in hotel lobbies talking about life, sports, the Bible, God and anything else that came to mind.
Those trips were about much more than football.
They became opportunities to spend time with a man whose friendship, faith and sense of humor made every journey memorable.
One of the funniest moments came during a trip to Mobile, Alabama, for the GoDaddy Bowl. Frank’s son, Anthony, was with us as we walked toward Wintzell’s Oyster House for dinner.
A group of Toledo Rockets fans was gathered at an outdoor bar along the way.
One of them yelled toward our group, asking, “Do you guys want to party with some Rockets?”
We told them we were on our way to eat dinner.
Moments later, one of the Toledo fans fell off his bar stool.
We stopped and asked the others whether he was all right. They assured us he would be fine, so Frank, Anthony and the rest of us continued to Wintzell’s.
While we were eating, a heavy downpour moved through the area.
When we walked back toward the hotel after dinner, we passed the same outdoor bar. The man who had fallen from the stool was still there, leaning against it and soaked from the rain.
His friends had left him behind.
It became one of those stories Frank, Anthony and the rest of us could tell and laugh about for years.
But some of the most meaningful moments on those trips had nothing to do with football or humor.
On numerous occasions, Frank would encounter someone who was homeless or hungry and decide to buy that person a meal. He would simply say he felt the Lord had led him to do it.
He did not help people for recognition. He did it because his faith told him it was the right thing to do.
That was Frank.
He was generous, welcoming and loyal. He loved God, his family, his friends and the Red Wolves.
My family spent many game weekends at Frank’s home, where he, his wife, Suzanne, and their daughter, Quincey, always made us feel welcome.
There were many nights spent in their living room talking, laughing and enjoying time together. They quickly became like a second family to my own.
Frank’s son, Anthony, is now one of my best friends. Anthony’s wife, Allison, and their children are also family to us.
Frank was preceded in death by his son, Mathieu, who was also incredibly loving and welcoming to my family. Mathieu treated us with kindness and helped make us feel as though we belonged whenever we were around the Martin family.
His loss was deeply felt, and the love he showed my family remains part of the memories and bonds that connect us to Frank and those closest to him.
Those relationships are part of Frank’s lasting legacy.
He had a way of bringing people together and making them feel as though they belonged. Whether someone had known him for years or had just met him, Frank had the ability to make that person feel welcome.
He made people laugh. He made them feel loved. He made ordinary moments memorable.
His absence will be felt during every Arkansas State football season, every road trip and every conversation about the Red Wolves.
There will be empty seats, quiet moments and memories that bring both smiles and tears.
But his influence will remain.
Every story published by Red Wolf Report will be connected to the opportunity Frank created when he reached out to a soldier in 2006 and sent him tickets to an Arkansas State football game.
That gesture helped create a fan. It later helped create a reporter. Eventually, it helped create Red Wolf Report.
Operating the publication in Frank’s memory is more than a tribute. It is an acknowledgment that none of it would have happened without him.
Frank “Scooter” Martin represented the best of Arkansas State fandom.
He supported the program with his time, his business and his resources. He purchased season tickets when he could have stood on the sideline. He traveled to support the Red Wolves on the road. He celebrated victories, endured losses and remained loyal through it all.
More importantly, he represented the best of friendship and Christian service.
To know Frank was to know love, fun and a great time.
His life made an impact that will continue far beyond football.
Red Wolf Report will continue telling the stories of Arkansas State athletics, but it will do so while carrying the memory of the man who made it possible.
It will be operated in memory of Frank “Scooter” Martin — a Christian man, a loyal friend, a devoted husband and father, and one of the greatest Red Wolves fans anyone could have known.