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Stan Kmet never realized years ago he was the answer to a Florida State baseball trivia question.
Who wore jersey No. 11 prior to legendary Seminoles coach Mike Martin?
The answer?
Stan Kmet.
“Really? I had no idea,” Kmet told the Tallahassee Democrat in a 2018 interview.
Kmet, a former FSU assistant baseball coach (1973-74) and longtime Tallahassee resident who worked in state government and later was involved in ministry and Christian television, died Thursday following a long battle with cancer.
He was 77.
The back story of FSU baseball coach Mike Martin’s No. 11 jersey
Kmet’s son Chuck, who attended Lincoln High and lives in Arizona, said his father’s time at FSU “was an important part of his life.”
Kmet landed in Tallahassee in 1973 as he was winding down his five-year minor-league career in the Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis organizations. He was hired as an assistant by FSU’s Jack Stallings and coached pitchers. The staff boasted cumulative earned-run averages of 2.89 and 3.24 in Kmet’s two seasons.
When Stallings resigned, Woody Woodard was hired as FSU’s head coach. Kmet changed careers and Martin, a former FSU player, was hired as an assistant by Woodward in 1975.
Martin said he wore jersey No. 11 because it was available and “it fit.”
Martin, of course, was universally known as 11 among FSU fans, colleagues and even family members. He wore the number as both an FSU assistant for five years and the program’s head coach coach for the next 40.
Martin, who retired following the 2019 season and is the all-time winningest coach in NCAA history in any sport, died on Feb. 1, 2024, following a battle with Lewy body dementia.
He was 79.
While Martin’s famed No. 11 jersey is positioned in left field at Howser Stadium, senior reliever and team captain Chase Haney wore jersey No. 11 during the 2021 season. Haney did not know Kmet but appreciated the connection.
“Wearing No. 11 during my senior year was an incredible honor, one that I will forever cherish,” said Haney, an orthopedic medical sales rep in Ocala.
“Initially, I was hesitant when asked to wear the number. But after speaking with coach Martin and receiving his blessing, I truly grasped the significance behind it. His humility was unmatched – he never made it about himself. But always about the university and the team as one family.”
Kmet, meanwhile, continued to follow and cheer on FSU baseball as a local resident for nearly 40 years. While son Chuck laughed and said he was “the black sheep of the family” since he cheered for the Florida Gators, he recalls the two attending FSU-UF football games.
Stan Kmet said “I was pulling for Mike” during Martin’s quest to become college baseball’s all-time winningest coach during the 2018 season.
“FSU has always had a good tradition of baseball; it has held that all through the years,” Kmet told the Democrat in 2018. “You have had some great coaches and players, and Mike has done a great job and has that tradition to build on.”
Kmet, meanwhile, also focused on his faith.
It was 30 years ago this month that Kmet founded Holy of Holies ministry. Kmet wife Marci traveled since 1995 to places such as Trinidad, the Grand Turks, all over Florida and many other states, including New York, Indiana, Alabama and Georgia to minister.
Kmet also became published last year writing “The God You Don’t Know,” which is available on Amazon. He also wrote the scripts for taped productions on the Seven Feasts of the Lord. These presently still air weekly on CBN under “One in Messiah”.
A Celebration of Life Service will be held for Kmet at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 22, at Lifepoint Church on Pedrick Road in Tallahassee.
