Jimmy Martin — I didn't want to leave Everton but I had to

Everton's beloved former kitman, Jimmy Martin, will be back at Goodison Park this weekend when he completes a 32-mile walk from Deepdale in Preston in aid of the charity that has helped him recover from the heart attack he suffered last year.

The Club's legendary kitman announced his retirement last August at the age of 74, a decision most fans, no doubt, assumed was simply because he felt the time had come after over 40 years of service to Everton. But, as he reveals to the Liverpool Echo, it was at the request of his wife following the second cardiac episode he suffered in 15 years.

He explains how much of a wrench it was to give up the job of kit manager he had held since the days of Howard Kendall's second spell as manager but, with the support of Heartbeat, the North West’s leading cardiovascular prevention and rehabilitation charity, he is back to his old self.

“I didn't want to walk away from this place”, he said of Finch Farm and Everton. “My wife told me. She said, 'This is your second heart attack, you're 74 years old, you have done enough for the club. Let’s enjoy the rest of our lives.' And I did. And I found it really hard at first, I mean really hard.

“To go somewhere strange is a bit hard," Jimmy continued, speaking of the fitness classes and gym visits he undertook with Heartbeat. "It was hard at first and I thought, 'Will I enjoy this or not?'

"But the more I got into it, the more I got around the table with the lads and got to know all the names, it just began to fall into place. It was like a little jigsaw… It has been 12 months now since I had the heart attack and I'm just a different fella now.

"I’m back to normal again. I never thought I would get back to normal. The people I have had around me at Heartbeat have been brilliant — everything about it is just so good.”

Now, Jimmy wants to give back by raising money for Heartbeat with his sponsored walk from Preston, home to the organisation’s bespoke cardiac centre, to Goodison where hopes to arrive before the Blues' match against Newcastle United on Saturday.

"[Y]ou never know. You could be in the same position as I am," he said of his reasoning for doing the charity walk. "I'm just lucky to have survived it. A lot of people don't. And I'm just so happy the way I've done it and gone through the rehab. I'm so happy being at Heartbeat.”

To find out more about Jimmy's walk, Heartbeat — as he explains, the organisation "is facing financial struggles and really needs to raise £100,000 to get out of their deficit and continue supporting people like me" — and to donate in support, visit the associated JustGiving page. 

 

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