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Benny may have been your teacher at East Globe, Central School or the Globe Junior High, or at Globe High School. He might have been your GHS Track and Field Coach (1971-2009), or your Cross Country Track Coach (1981-1997); or Benny taught you how to swim during the summer months at the School Hill Park swimming pool near Central School (1968 to 1999).
Perhaps he was your Globe High School classmate, Class of 1956, or teammate in the sports of track & field, basketball or football (1953-1956). You may have been a Track and Field teammate with Benny at Arizona State College in Tempe (now called Arizona State University), coached by the legendary Senon “Baldy” Castillo (1956-1958). Or you shared a membership in the Knights of Columbus Council 1158 in Globe.
You might have attended the prestigious Arizona Hispanic Sports Hall of Fame dinner in Phoenix to see Benny inducted in 2004; or when he was inducted into the Globe High School Hall of Fame for his athletic accomplishments in 2011. And Benny might have even been your best friend in the Termite Club of Euclid Avenue in west Globe. You remember Benny, or “Coach Marin.”
On April 21, 2017, he passed away peacefully in the comfort of his home in Globe. His wife, Genevieve, and sons, Benny and Edward, remain comforted in remembering Benny in the many ways in which he made a difference in his hometown of Globe, and among the youths of Globe-Claypool-Miami-San Carlos.
He was quite an athlete at Globe High (1953-1956); as Quarterback he led the Tigers to the Conference and State Football championships in 1953. In 1955, Ben threw 10 touchdown passes during the season, the third-highest number for a single year.
But Benny’s best remembered for his Track & Field championships and record-setting wins and achievements in the Mile Run for Globe High from 1953-1956. As a freshman in 1953, and a sophomore in 1954, Ben set the Mile record at the Casa Grande Invitational with a time of 4:46.6 (1953) and in the time of 4:47.5 (1954). In 1954, Ben was among the top 25 high school runners of Arizona who competed in the Arizona Relays’ Conference meet in the John Sandidge Mile Run —Benny won the John Sandidge Mile run with a time of 4:47.2 and set a new Conference record for that time. He also set a new high school record for the 800 meter (1/2 mile) run.
By the time Benny finished his Globe High School track & field career in 1956, he won four divisional titles: 1954, Mile and 800 (1/2 mile); and 1956, Mile. Three state championships: 1954, Mile; 1955, Mile and 800 (1/2 mile); and 1956, Mile.
In 1956, Benny was awarded a full track & field scholarship to Arizona State College in Tempe and graduated from Arizona State University in 1963 with a Bachelor of Arts in Education degree. Benny’s proudest accomplishments as the Head Track Coach at Globe High School in the years 1971 to 2009 have been those of his track and field and cross country track and field teams, boys and girls, and their award-winning ways and championships.
His track teams have won 11 divisional titles, and he coached three state runner-ups and one state champion in Cross Country. He guided 31 individual state track champions and in 1987, Benny was named the Arizona Track and Cross Country Coaches Association Coach of the Year. 1987 was also the year the Boys Cross Country team won the State AAA Division 2 title and the first State Championship title in any sport since 1967, a period of 20 years.
In 2016, this Globe High School 1987 Boys Cross Country team was inducted, along with Coach Marin, into the Globe High School Hall of Fame, 2016.
Ben was born at Gila General Hospital on Dec. 18, 1937, with his fraternal twin brother, Tom Marin, and is preceded in death by his parents, Lupe Trujillo Marin and Eulalia Renteria Marin; and his brother, Arthur Marin.
His sons, Edward and Benny and his spouse, Belinda, mourn his loss, as do Ben’s remaining siblings: Tom (Sherrie, spouse; sons: Thomas and Michael (Phoenix); Christine (Mesa); Monica (Phoenix); and Martha Marin Cephas (Harold, spouse; children: Xavier, Alejandra, Vincent, (Antioch, Calif.). And so do his grandchildren: Christy Marin Larsen (Justin); Joey Marin (Alisha) and great-grandchild (Lyric); his aunts in Globe, Dora Marin and Kathleen Landa (sons: Tom and Bob Landa and daughter, Betty); uncle, Angel Marin (Delia) in Tempe (sons: Angel and Robert Marin and daughter, Gloria); and numerous cousins and extended families in Globe-Miami-Claypool-San Carlos, Phoenix, and Tempe.
Coach Ben Marin’s Memorial Mass and Rosary and Service were held at the Globe High School Gym on Friday, April 28, 2017. It was the appropriate setting for Coach Marin. Thank you to Globe superintendent Mr. Jerry Jennex and Globe High School principal Robert Armenta,
