Welcome to KikoMartinez.org!

Francisco “Kiko” Javier Martinez was a Mexican-American basketball player that not only accomplished one amazing feat after another during his life, but he embodied the human spirit and proved that if someone works hard and is dedicated, anything is possible.

This website is dedicated to him and its goal is to highlight his accomplishments and act as a resource for people that might not know his story and what an amazing athlete and person Kiko Martinez was.

Note from the Martinez Family

I wanted to thank you for visiting my grandfather’s website. We cannot begin to tell his story without acknowledging the positive effect that basketball has had on our family. It has instilled the foundations of hard work, perfecting a practice and the glorious beauty of competition on all of us. Furthermore, sports is about the struggle, blood, sweat and tears to get to a pinnacle and the stories that are paved along the way.

I was fortunate enough to spend a large part of my youth with my grandfather, Francisco Martinez, in my life and I remember him very fondly. Usually it was outside in the backyard of his El Paso home, learning the correct way to shoot free throws and yes, beating him one time when I was like 12 or 13 years old at a free throw competition. He had a gentle way about him as a grandparent, but later I learned he also had a side of ferocious competition and perfection.

I always knew his story was special, even as a boy, I would stare at his bronze medal in the sitting room where our Christmas tree would sit and just gaze in amazement. I knew it was a very sacred thing that he had done. I was too young to understand the horrors of World War II, however. When I started to learn and understand that this whole fascist movement had taken over Germany and that Hitler thought of his Aryan race as superior to any other race, it made this bronze medal win for Mexico so much more special.

My grandfather’s story is not just basketball. It is a story of resilience from a poverty stricken childhood. It is a story of ingenuity professionally and in basketball. It is a story of drive and practice to perfect the “fundamentals”, which we can apply to life along with basketball. It is a family story and a humble man that traveled the world and just did what he loved. Play basketball.

He was a very serious man. Of course at the time, if any of you reading happen to know my family, there were many laughs because of his drive and no-nonsense approach to life. But those kinds of memories that paint the landscape of looking back with a smile on all of our faces and without a doubt, feel incredibly proud of our “Pops”. When I was building this website, I not only connected back to my childhood, but also tapped into Mexican, American and basketball history and I feel so fortunate that I was able to examine his life, travels and accomplishments.

You are forever in our hearts, Pops.

Alex Martinez & The Martinez Family