If it is possible to have golf in your blood, then perhaps that could have been said of Lily Harper Martin. The sister of golfing legend Chandler Harper, Martin made a name for herself as an amateur by winning the Virginia State Women’s Golf Championship a total of seven times, with six times in succession. Martin also won the Middle Atlantic Championship the only time she played in it.
She was born in Portsmouth, Virginia on August 18, 1916 and spent her entire life in the city, marrying another avid golfer, Carl Martin. When her husband died of a sudden heart attack at age 34, Lily Martin lost her desire for competition. In fact it is said she never played golf again and never remarried. She passed away at the age of 73 years old.
Lily Harper Martin and Chandler Harper are the only pair of siblings to be inducted into the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame.
