Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club co-founders Martin Mathews and Hubert “Dickey” Ballentine were sitting under a shade tree in Tandy Park in the 1950s when they decided to start a Boys club for children in North City like the ones in South St. Louis, Mathews’ biography states.
“Mr. Mathews was the epitome of selflessness; he cared deeply for our community and treated every child and every family as though they were his own. He was dedicated to taking care of the children ensuring they were exposed not only to athletics and the arts but also to caring adults who could guide them along their life journey.”
Ballentine and Mathews each coached teams but decided to take a shot at uniting and creating a boys and girls club.
Within five years of its creation in 1960, Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club had expanded from five to 75 teams. Mathews sold coffee for 10 cents a cup at his day job to fund the club. In 2015, Mathews said that the club reached an estimated two million lives over the course of 55 years.
Mathews has now joined his late co-founder Ballentine who passed away in 2000 at the age of 90. Mathews, 97, passed away on Nov. 9, 2022.
By 1982, the organization had undergone a multimillion-dollar expansion spearheaded by a partnership with the late Chuck Knight of Emerson and the late August Busch III of Anheuser-Busch. Mathews Dickey also received a visit from then President Ronald Reagan, who declared the club “a model for the country.”
Mathews is a member of the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame and his biography said he was “a firm believer in youth employment opportunities.”
Mathews founded the Earn and Learn program to help them earn money as managers, coaches, scorekeepers, and umpires. To reduce gang violence, he collaborated with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 1992 to establish Motivation, Vocation and Preparation (MVP).
In 1998, President Bill Clinton’s White House lauded it as a 21st Century Learning Center. U.S. Vice Presidents Joe Biden and Dan Quayle recognized the Club’s “The Sky is the Limit,” “Maleness to Manhood Workshop Series,” career, leadership, and mentoring programs.
Mathews served on numerous boards and remained an involved civic leader, successfully instituting youth programming and forging corporate/community partnerships.
“The Urban League family deeply mourns the passing of Martin L. Mathews, a trusted friend, a giant in the youth services arena, and one of the greatest community servants our region has ever known,” said Mike McMillian, Urban League of Metropolitan St. Louis president and CEO.
“Mr. Mathews was the epitome of selflessness; he cared deeply for our community and treated every child and every family as though they were his own. He was dedicated to taking care of the children ensuring they were exposed not only to athletics and the arts but also to caring adults who could guide them along their life journey.”
“He loved St. louis. He loved being a part of this community and he loved to see the young people who participated in activities at Mathews-Dickey Boys and Girls Club thrive. There will never be another Martin Mathews and that is as it should be—one of a kind.”
Under his leadership with the Danforth family, City Academy was established. He also helped create the St. Louis Law Internship Program.
He valued education and was a recipient of honorary doctorate degrees from St. Louis University, Washington University, Webster University, and the University of Missouri — St. Louis.
Upon his retirement in 2014, Mathews told the St. Louis American, “It is my philosophy that talent, education and determination encourage youth to transcend less-than-stellar living situations and other obstacles.”
“Through education we can overcome hardships and difficulties and provide support systems to conquer poverty, ignorance, and hatred to become productive citizens. My lifelong mission is to educate youth on the front end to prevent them from falling through the cracks on the back end — the guiding principle of our ‘It’s Better to Educate than to Incarcerate’ Initiative.”
When the Rams were looking for a practice site and office space after relocating from Los Angeles in 1995, Mathews helped make it happen.
He oversaw the team’s transition of their administrative offices and training facility within the confines of the Mathews-Dickey facility until a new Earth City complex was completed.
Mathews collaborated with major corporate leaders and Civic Progress to solicit financial and in-kind donations to renovate the Club and broaden its services. Support has come from Ameren, Anheuser-Busch, Edward Jones, Emerson, The Catherine Manley Gaylord Foundation, the Orthwein Foundation, Enterprise Rent-A-Car, Insituform Technologies, the INTERCO Charitable Trust and United Way of Greater St. Louis. Mathews also was the first African American to serve on the board and executive committee of the United Way.
His awards include The A&E Biography Community Hero, Amateur Baseball Hall of Fame; President’s Council on Youth Opportunity; St. Louis Board of Education’s Outstanding Community Service; the Washington Times’ National Service and American Century; the Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. National President’s; the Missouri Athletic Club’s Jack Buck; St. Louis Olympic Festival; St. Louis Globe Democrat Humanitarian, St. Louis American Salute to Excellence Lifetime Achievement and United States Presidential Citizens.
