There’s no doubt about this one fact: Marty Higgins is one of the greatest – if not the single greatest – athlete in the history of Nutley High School.
The numbers simply prove that.
In basketball, Higgins tallied 1,309 points for his career, one of the highest totals ever. The total does fall about 400 points shy of his father, Marty, Sr., who remains Nutley’s all-time leading scorer in boys’ basketball.
Last season, Higgins averaged 18.5 points per game. He drained an astounding 89 3-pointers, one of the highest totals in the state.
But basketball was never Higgins’ primary sport. He earned his keep as a baseball superstar.
Higgins set the Nutley school record for career hits with 153, topping the record set two years ago by Anthony Condito, currently playing baseball at Rutgers University.
Higgins was a two-way star for the Maroon Raiders on the diamond.
As a hitter, Higgins batted .432 with six homers and 21 RBI. He collected 41 hits and scored 39 runs.
As a pitcher, Higgins owned a 5-1 record with a 1.56 earned run average.
THE OBSERVER MALE ATHLETES OF THE YEAR
2002-2003-Hugh MacDonald, Kearny
2003-2004-Steve Armstrong, Nutley
2004-2005-Brian Kapp, Lyndhurst
2005-2006-Andrew Amadeo, Kearny
2006-2007-Lou Ritacco, Nutley
2007-2008-Michael Gross, North Arlington
2008-2009-Jose Camano, Harrison
2009-2010-Peter Santos, North Arlington
2010-2011-Patrick Rono, Lyndhurst
2011-2012-Tyler Krychkowski, North Arlington
2012-2013-A.J. Nocciolo, North Arlington
2013-2014-Danny Cordeiro, North Arlington
2014-2015 P.J. Gencarelli, Belleville
2015-2016 Petey Guerriero, Lyndhurst
2016-2017 Mike O’Donnell, Harrison
2017-2018 Dustin Huseinovic, Harrison
2018-2019 Eric McKenna, North Arlington & Marty Higgins, Nutley
Is there any doubt that Higgins deserved to be selected as The Observer Co-Male Athlete of the Year for the 2018-2019 season, joining Eric McKenna of North Arlington, who was featured in last week’s editions.
It was too difficult to decide one athlete over the other this year. The two were that outstanding, so the Observer decided to honor both young men as Athlete of the Year. It marked the first time ever that there were two honorees for the year-end award on the male side. In 2013-2014, the Observer honored two female athletes as the Co-Female Athletes of the Year, honoring Grace Montgomery of Nutley and Nicole Kelly of Kearny. This is the first time there are two male honorees.
Higgins becomes the third Nutley athlete to receive the pinnacle award from The Observer, joining Steve Armstrong in 2003-2004 and Lou Ritacco in 2006-2007, so Higgins is the first Maroon Raider in 12 years to receive the honor.
Higgins rightly deserved his place among the all-time greats.
“He’s as good of an athlete as we’ve ever had,” said Bob Harbison, who had the distinction and pleasure to coach Higgins for four years in both sports. “He does everything the right way. He’s coachable. He’s a good boy. He knows his role. He played his role well. He never made any excuses for anything. He’s what you want a high school athlete to be. You want kids like Marty.”
Higgins said that he first started playing basketball, mainly because of the influence of his father, who went on to play NCAA Division I basketball at the University of Maine after he left his mark scoring more than 1,800 points for the Maroon Raiders.
“Dad liked basketball,” Higgins said. “Dad really never liked baseball. There are pictures of me just a couple of months old where I have a basketball in my hands. I always remember having a basketball hoop at our house.”
Higgins went on to play Little League baseball and thought he was faced with a tough decision at age 9.
“I wondered what sport should I pick,” Higgins said. “Dad told me that he thought I was better in baseball. I totally believed him. I remember growing up that I thought I was better in basketball. But I loved both sports. I wanted to play both sports. I could go on for hours playing both. I used to also throw a football around with him in the backyard, but I never played. My Dad was so totally an influence on me. He introduced me to sports. He would teach me every day how to shoot the basketball. It was all a lot of fun.”
Higgins felt that he was always a step above the rest in basketball.
“I probably always knew I was good in basketball,” Higgins said. “In seventh grade, I had my first 30-point game.”
But Higgins was already making his mark in baseball as an All-Star for the Nutley American Little League.
So he was determined to be a two-sport standout when he arrived at Nutley High School almost four years ago.
“I think he was equally proficient in basketball as he was baseball,” Harbison said. “It made things easier for me. He always knew the role he was going to play. As a pitcher, he would come in and get outs. I think that was the underrated part of his game. He was also a good pitcher. I’d bring him in from shortstop and he would throw a strike right away. He just stepped up on the mound. He never took a day off and never complained. He’s exactly what you want if you’re making a high school athlete. You hope that the good ones can carry themselves the way Marty did.”
Harbison said that he will always remember Higgins draining a school-record nine 3-pointers against Livingston, but he will also remember the 143rd hit of Higgins’ career that gave him the school record.
“He hit it across the street (Franklin Avenue),” Harbison said. “That was pretty memorable.”
Higgins said that he will always remember the first day of baseball tryouts.
“I knew that there were a lot of good returning players, so I figured I was going to play for the freshman team,” Higgins said. “But ten minutes into practice, he (Harbison) moved me over to the varsity. Right before the first game, he told me I was starting.”
Higgins said that he embraced his role as the Maroon Raiders’ closer.
“I loved to go in and shut the door,” Higgins said. “That might have been my favorite part. I loved pitching.”
Higgins said that he loved evolving from being a shy freshman to the senior leader that everyone looked up to.
“I got to play both roles,” Higgins said. “At first, I was quiet, but later on, I took on the leadership role. It was really something. I had the best four years of my life. I wouldn’t change a thing. I loved being so close to my teammates, especially my baseball teammates. We always hung out together, eat together, did everything together. We were all involved. Everyone was friends. It’s definitely something I’ll look back on. I loved every minute.”
Higgins thanked his parents, Marty and Jodi, for their support.
“I thank my Dad for pushing me in sports and my Mom means everything in the world to me. She helped me with the mental aspect of the game. She helped me prepare.”
Higgins said that he learned never to show his emotions on the field from his father and his uncle Mike, who played baseball at Rutgers and with the Colorado Rockies’ organization.
“It was not my place to show my emotions on the field ever,” Higgins said. “I couldn’t show that to my teammates.”
Now, Higgins will go on to play baseball at St. John’s University.
“I’m super pumped for that,” Higgins said. “It was my dream to play college baseball. I can’t wait. Coach (Ed) Blankmeyer is one of the best coaches in the world. I know he’s going to maximize me to what I can be.”
Higgins was floored to receive the award from Observer Co-Owner and Advertising Director Lisa Feorenzo recently.
“I’m honestly honored,” Higgins said. “It’s not just an in-town Nutley thing. It’s the whole area. I feel so honored and it’s pretty cool I was picked.”
Like there was any doubt?
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Jim Hague | Observer Sports Writer
Sports Writer Jim Hague was with The Observer for 20+ years — and his name is one of the most recognizable in all of sports journalism. The St. Peter’s Prep and Marquette alum kicked off his journalism career post Marquette at the Daily Record, where he remained until 1985. Following shorts stints at two other newspapers, in September 1986, he joined the now-closed Hudson Dispatch, where he remained until 1991, when its doors were finally shut.
It was during his tenure at The Dispatch that Hague’s name and reputation as one of country’s hardest-working sports reporters grew. He won several New Jersey Press Association and North Jersey Press Club Awards in that timeframe.
In 1991, he became a columnist for The Hudson Reporter chain of newspapers — and he remains with them to this day.
In addition to his work at The Observer and The Hudson Reporter, Hague is also an Associated Press stringer, where he covers Seton Hall University men’s basketball, New York Red Bulls soccer and occasionally, New Jersey Devils hockey.
He’s also doing work at The Morristown Daily Record, the very newspaper where his journalism career began.
During his career, he also worked for Dorf Feature Services, which provided material for the Star-Ledger. While there, he covered the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.
Hague is also known for his announcing work — and he’s done PA work for Rutgers Newark and NJIT.
Hague is the author of the book “Braddock: The Rise of the Cinderella Man.”