Former Michigan State running back Blanche Martin, a key member of the Spartans’ 1957 national championship team and later the first African American on the university’s Board of Trustees, died Saturday. He was 89.
Martin, born Jan. 16, 1937, in Millhaven, Ga., moved to Michigan as a child and starred in four sports at River Rouge High School before lettering for the Spartans from 1956 to 1959 under coach Duffy Daugherty.
The 1957 squad finished 8-1, ranked No. 3 in both the final Associated Press and United Press International polls, and was recognized as national champion by the Dunkel System, an NCAA-designated major selector…