Breaking: Beloved Boston hockey legend has passed away

Tom "Red " Martin was a lot of things to a lot of people, but he was always a hockey player at heart.

Martin was the founder and chairman of the Cramer Productions marketing firm in Norwood, but was, more importantly, a widely respected philanthropist and ambassador for the sport that he loved. He passed away at his home in Canton on Thursday of prostate cancer. He was 79-years-old.

Martin was a legend in the Massachusetts college hockey scene. He played 58-minutes on defense and scored the game winning goal for Boston College’s Beanpot Tournament victory over Harvard in 1961. The two minutes of the game that he missed were due to serving time in the penalty box.

Boston College retired his No. 15 jersey, and Martin would go on and coach for Boston College, as well as playing on the US National Olympic Team in 1962 and 1964.

Although Martin was offered a shot at joining the Boston Bruins after the 1962 Olympics, he declined because he already had a job that paid better, and because "would have had to take boxing lessons in the summer” to be able to compete in the NHL.

If things had been a little different, Martin could have had a sterling career in the NHL. As it is, he still lived an amazing life.