Martin elected to Quebec Sports Hall of Fame

Former big league catcher Russell Martin (Montreal, Que.) has been elected to the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame. Photo: Quebec Sports Hall of Fame

October 1, 2026

By Kevin Glew

Canadian Baseball Network

Russell Martin has been elected to the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame.

The announcement was made on Wednesday.

Martin will be inducted in a ceremony on October 26 at the Casino de Montréal alongside former CFL player Luc Brodeur-Jourdain, late ex-NHLer Claude Lemieux and short track speed skater Marianne St-Gelais.

Born in East York, Ont., Martin moved to Montreal when he was two. He would make his big league debut with the Los Angeles Dodgers on May 5, 2006. He proceeded to bat .282 with 10 home runs in 121 games that season. For an encore, he hit .293 with 19 home runs and a career-best 87 RBIs in 2007 and was selected to his first All-Star Game. He was also honoured with a Silver Slugger Award, a Gold Glove Award and the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame’s Tip O’Neill Award.

After three more seasons with the Dodgers, he split his next four campaigns between the New York Yankees (2011-12) and Pittsburgh Pirates (2013-14). Following the 2014 campaign, Martin signed a five-year contract with the Blue Jays. In his first season with Toronto, he belted a career-best 23 homers to earn his fourth All-Star selection and help the club to their first postseason appearance in 22 years.

Martin played his final major league season with the Dodgers in 2019.

The legendary catcher ranks in the top 10 among Canadians in most major league statistical categories, including first in dWAR (16.5), third in WAR (38.8), fourth in games (1,693), fifth in runs (803) and sixth in hits (1,416). He also holds Canadian major league postseason records in games (58), hits (38) and runs (24).

On the international stage, Martin played for Canada at the World Baseball Classic in 2009 and coached for Canada at the event in 2017, 2023 and 2026.

The Quebec Sports Hall of Fame is a non-profit organization that was founded in 1990. It’s dedicated to the promotion of sport and the recognition of athletes and builders of sport in the province.

This year will mark their 35th induction ceremony.

Three builders - Christiane Ayotte (Sports Science), Eugène Lapierre (tennis) and Danièle Sauvageau (hockey) - will also be inducted.