Ever since he heard about someone throwing a fish on the ice at hockey games, Jon Martin was hooked.
He began the first-goal tradition at Omaha hockey games, something that has continued for more than 20 years.
Friends say it won’t be quite the same at Baxter Arena next season without Martin, who died Saturday at 64.
“Jon was someone who was around the program constantly,” UNO executive associate athletic director Mike Kemp said. “He started something that set us apart.”
Known as “The Fishman,” Martin and his wife Lori were supporters since the early days. A few years after Kemp became the program’s first coach in 1997, Martin heard him talk about the need for fan participation and traditions.
Kemp also mentioned the time when he was a Wisconsin assistant for a game at Alaska-Fairbanks. After the opposition scored the first goal, Kemp was smacked in the back by a large fish that was thrown in celebration.
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What was a metaphor for the visitors having to fish the puck out of the net stayed with Martin, who took the idea and ran with it.
It started at the Civic Auditorium and carried over to the former Qwest Center and eventually Baxter, where Jon and Lori cheered on the Mavs this past season.
In a 2002 World-Herald story, Martin talked about the challenge of bringing a frozen fish to each game.
“I like to get rid of it as early as possible,” he said. “Last year, we went into the third period of a game. It gets real stinky up there.”
When the tradition started, Martin went to grocery stores to seek whole fish. He later started buying them from a local restaurant, but the expense led him to have fishing buddies help him out.
Martin tossed five-pound trout, 12-pound catfish and 16-pound carp. He tried to stay away from catfish after a barb cut his hand at a game.
Lori Martin said in the 2002 story that she was OK with the tradition of the fish throw, so long as her husband washed his hands before returning to his seat. She added the fish was not going home with them if the Mavs were held scoreless.
The tradition grew when UNO fan Greg McVey, a former go kart racer, built a miniature version of a Zamboni. To this day, the fish is scooped up on the ice by the “Mavboni” to the cheers of the crowd.
In recent years, Martin still brought the fish but left the throwing to a few of his younger friends.
“Jon kept the fish near our locker room so I pretty much saw him before every game,” Kemp said. “He always was the caretaker.”
Kent Cisar, one of the current throwers, had season tickets near Martin and always enjoyed the tradition — though he never knew what kind of fish Martin had in his brown bag that night.
“I’d always ask him, ‘What’s in the bag, Jon?” Cisar said. “Back in the old days, the ref would have to pick up the fish with a shovel.”
Cisar said the tradition means more than just having a fish hit the ice.
“Jon talked about going to road games where the atmosphere just wasn’t the same,” he said. “We have fun at Baxter, and Jon was so important in starting a tradition that’s lasted all these years.”
Kemp said it was fans such as Martin who helped create interest in the UNO program.
“Those are the kind of people you want to have at games,” he said. “Jon was a really good guy and he’s going to be missed.”
A celebration of life will be held for Martin on April 22.
mike.patterson@owh.com, 402-444-1350, twitter.com/MPattersonOWH
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Jon Martin remembered for starting Omaha hockey's first-goal tradition — throwing fish on the ice - Omaha World-Herald
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