When Scott Martin was born in Tulsa in 1975 his father Roland was fishing in a tournament. When he got off the water, Roland learned the big news and rushed to the hospital. Shortly afterwards he called his buddy Ray Scott, collect.
“My dad was so excited,” said Scott. “He told Ray they had a boy. And Ray immediately said, ‘What did you name him?’ Dad said, ‘Well we don’t have a name for him yet.’ In those days you didn’t know the gender ahead of time.
“So Ray said, ‘If you name him after me I’ll give him a B.A.S.S. Lifetime Membership.’ Dad liked that idea and ran in to tell my mom. He was all excited about the Life Membership.
“My mom’s reaction was, ‘No way. I’m not going to name him Ray. I don’t really like that name, and he doesn’t look like a Ray.’
“So, Dad thought about that and said, ‘How about Scott?’ Mom said, ‘Well I might be able to work with that.’ That’s how I got my name. I might be the only person to get a B.A.S.S. Lifetime Membership at birth.”
A couple decades later Scott called his mom, MaryAnn, and told her he was going to take her fishing on his birthday. She asked where they were going, and Scott told her they were going to Ray Scott’s lake in Pintlala, Ala. The photo above is from that trip, on Scott’s birthday, Oct. 9, 2013.
“Ray had a birthday cake ready and he sang ‘Happy Birthday.’ It was special. That day brought the whole story full circle for me and my mom,” said Scott.
