A towering figure who sits easily in the top tier of contributors to Tasmanian sport is how well-known sports broadcaster Tim Lane will remember Paddy Martin following his death last week.
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Growing up in the north of the state, Lane was made aware of Martin's early days at the Launceston Football Club, but also got to watch him play in his final season in 1960.
"My family had known him and used to talk about how he played for Launceston and that was the team I supported when I started going to the footy because dad did," Lane recollected.
"They were having really lean years when I was barracking for them and dad told me how Paddy Martin used to play for them and how he wished he could have been back at the Blues.
"But while I lived in Launceston, I knew of his great deeds on the North-West Coast.
"I saw what I think was his last game which was the state final between Burnie and City-South at York Park in 1960.
"Both teams formed a guard of honour for him which I had never seen before and it seemed quite momentous.
"He was a colossus in Tasmanian football at the time, and looking at his record, he won an amazing seven premierships in 10 seasons at three different clubs."
Lane would then form a more permanent bond with Martin in the 1970's as he was breaking into the football media landscape.
The pair worked together at an intrastate match between the NTFA and NWFU in 1973, with Lane remembering the encounter well.
"It was like we were old friends even though there was a big age difference and we scarcely knew each other, and I finished up having dinner with him and his wife Tess that night," Lane said
"For me as a young bloke and over a period time, he couldn't have been more generous and respectful.
"I felt he treated me as an equal, which I wasn't in terms of football knowledge or experience, and was always a pleasure to work with.
"It's something you remember when someone of genuine significance treats you in that way and I only have fond memories of my dealings with him."
After moving to Hobart and then later on to Melbourne to continue his commentary career, Lane said Martin would stay in touch occasionally.
They would catch up again at the Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame function, where both were originally inducted in 2005 and later elevated to icon status in 2013 (Lane) and 2015 (Martin).
"Paddy was like a Hollywood star at those events, a Gregory Peck-like figure, and I used to be pleased to see him," Lane said.
"He was a towering figure over an extended period and at the end of his days as player and coach he continued to have presence in Devonport via his media activities and in his well-known sports shop.
"He's very close to the top of the pantheon for Tasmanian sportspeople for his all-round contribution, and was just so much a part of the flavour of sport on the North-West Coast."
