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The 1952-53 men's basketball team at Martin College posted a 15-3 record and were undefeated at home, qualifying for the Southeastern Regional Tournament. But as successful as they were on the court, they have been even more successful in their lives after college basketball. The team produced, among other careers, five high school teachers, two college professors, a dentist, an attorney, two ministers, and a university president.

W.C. Johnson of Mt. Pleasant, Tenn., coached boys' basketball for 29 years at Mt. Pleasant High School and served as principal there for 12 years before retiring in 1996.

Wayne Walters, of Columbia, Tenn., taught and coached for more than 30 years at Santa Fe High School, where the school gymnasium is named in his honor.

Joe Evans returned to Martin as an instructor and tennis coach before joining the Middle Tennessee State mathematics department, where he remained for 38 years before retirement.

Bill Reid of Nashville also became a high school math teacher and coach, spending 30 years in the Nashville public school system. He earned advanced degrees from Peabody College at Vanderbilt and Nashville School of Law.

Clay Howard of Prospect, Tenn., earned a master's degree in chemistry from George Peabody College and was employed by the U.S. government for nine years before spending 39 years as an agent with New York Life Insurance. He retired in 2005.

L.C. Troutt of Murfreesboro graduated from Vanderbilt Divinity School and 34 years as a pastor with the Tennessee Conference of the United Methodist Church. Since his retirement in 1994, he has served on the staff of Murfreesboro United Methodist College.

Dr. Roy Nicks of Nashville served as manager of the team and went on a career in state government and higher education, serving at various times as deputy commissioner of finance, commissioner of welfare, assistant to the governor, chancellor of the University of Tennessee in Nashville, chancellor of the Tennessee Board of Regents, and president of East Tennessee State University. He is now retired.

Dr. Alex Shivers of Knoxville taught at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tenn., has been visiting research professor at Cambridge University in England, Catholic University in Chile, and Monash University in Australia. For 10 years, he was director of the In Vitro Fertilization Laboratory for humans in Knoxville and is now a member of the department of biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology at the University of Tennessee.

Dr. Howell Benson of Murfreesboro practiced dentistry in Winchester, Tenn., for 35 years before retiring in 1995.

Claude Bellar of Goodlettsville, Tenn., was a general building contractor for several years before he began teaching at the vocational school in Robertson County in 1976. He retired from teaching 18 years later, but he still owns and operates an antiques shop.

Philip "Petey" Day of Nashville retired from the U.S. Postal Service after a lengthy career and is a part-time minister of two churches.

The late Bobby Hamlett went on to a distinguished 30-year teaching career in Leoma, Tenn., before his retirement.