Honoring Marty Reed: Bayonne's Sports Icon

Marty Reed – who spent almost 60 years involved in Bayonne youth sports – may have been the most popular person in the city. Marty knew everybody.

Not just people’s names or their faces. Marty knew which Little League team you were on, what position you played, who your teammates were, the names of your brothers and sisters, and their nicknames.

Marty, who died Saturday morning at the age of 76, was a walking and talking Bayonne encyclopedia, his memory bank complete with entries for almost every player from Little League and PAL basketball, going all the way back to the 1960s.

But Marty was more than a man with memories. As news of Marty’s passing spread, it felt as if the whole city was in mourning. He was a beloved community icon, a guy who looms prominently in fond childhood memories of generations of kids who grew up in Bayonne.

There’s Marty up in the Little League press box, working the scoreboard, telling stories about various umpires, coaches, and players through the decades.

There’s Marty sitting at the chair near the entrance to the PAL basketball court, greeting people as they arrived, offering congratulations on a game well-played when they left.

There’s Marty in the dugout, giving encouragement, to both teams, hoping everybody got a hit.

As the city’s recreation offerings expanded, so did Marty’s sports schedule. He found time for kickball, flag football, and floor hockey. His latest passion was Bayonne’s Buddy Baseball program at 11th Street field.

For more than 20 years, Marty made an August pilgrimage to Williamsport, Pa. to attend the opening day parade and first game of the Little League World Series. Every year, he would buy a new jersey for one of the teams – including squads from the Caribbean, Mexico, and Australia.

Ah yes, Australia. That was a special one.

One year Marty met one of the coaches from Australia in Williamsport and invited him to bring his team to Bayonne for a game. The Australia coach said, “Sure,” and the following summer Little League’ Volunteer Stadium hosted its first international games. Australia won one, Bayonne won – and Marty was the star of both games.

Marty didn’t drive. But that didn’t stop him from getting around. Often, people gave him rides. He made trips for Bayonne teams’ tournament games to Fort Lee, Hoboken, and Elizabeth.

If Marty couldn’t find anyone to drive him, he simply took a bus – sometimes all the way to Williamsport. A few years ago, Marty hopped a bus to Staten Island for a New York Little League tournament game in the afternoon, then walked back across the Bayonne Bridge to help out at summer sandlot game at Little League at night.

We all knew him as Marty, but his given name was Charles Martin Reed. He is predeceased by his mother, Loretta Reed, and father, Charles Reed. He is survived by an extended family of tens of thousands of Bayonnites who loved him.

Marty worked for decades as a courier for an investment firm in New York City, taking a bus to the PATH station in Jersey City, then a train into Manhattan before he retired.

Marty went to St. Andrew’s School and later graduated Bayonne High School in 1968. As a youngster, he lived a few blocks from the Lexington Avenue field where Little League played in the 1950s and 1960s, and he used to walk over to watch the games.

As Marty’s health declined in the past year, that didn’t diminish his passion for being at Bayonne youth sports games During the winter, he was discharged from Bayonne Hospital one morning and was back at the PAL watching games the same night.

On the morning before his final hospital stay, Marty was at 11th Street Field for Buddy Baseball and then got a ride to Little League. From his hospital bed, on the day before he died, Marty was still asking about the outcome of the Minor League Championship game.

Many expect him to keep on following the careers of Bayonne’s Little Leaguers and PAL hoopsters from his seat in heaven.

We’re asking for your help in giving Marty a memorial befitting the wonderful man that he was and allowing him to leave a legacy that will forever help youth sports in Bayonne.

Visitation will be Wednesday 4pm to 6pm Sweeney Funeral Home 857 Kennedy Blvd Bayonne .N.J 07002