When Tim Martin says, “I could talk your ear off about Lawrence football,” he’s not kidding.

Martin played on 1988 Lawrence team that reached the state final. He’s into Bulldogs history enough that it bothers him that Lawrence does not play Skowhegan — a school down the road — this year.

But Martin will be pretty busy anyway this fall. He’s gathering photos and memorabilia to produce a DVD on 75 years of Lawrence football history at Keyes Field.

“In my opinion, the best football program in the state,” Martin said. “It’s bred into the people of SAD 49. I want to do a tribute to all of the people who have played and been a part of it.”

The DVD will be a slideshow, and Martin estimates it will run between three and four hours. He wants to spend time on each team since 1938, along with a feature on Lawrence’s tradition of great running backs.

“I’m going to get in and get a bunch of old yearbooks, anything I can collect from the boosters, old newspaper clippings,” Martin said. “We’ll set something up with music and narrate it. I originally wanted to do video, because there’s a lot of video. We were looking for the old reel-to-reel tapes. But there’s no way to cram 75 years into a video, so it will be more of a slideshow.”

Martin realizes doing a complete history on a subject like the last 75 years of Lawrence football is tough. Deciding how much to do on the first night game at Keyes Field (won by Lawrence over Hampden in 1972) is one of many choices he’ll have to make.

“Hopefully we can captivate them, because it will definitely be at least a three-hour (show),” Martin said. “I don’t think we can do it justice by limiting it to less than that.”

Martin clearly enjoys talking about Lawrence football. Just starting on one subject can lead him into many others.

“I’ve got an uncle who graduated in 1973 who was a two-time all-state tackle — Dick LeClair,” Martin said. “The next generation, my cousin Bob Moses, he played 1985 through 1987. The ’80s was a special, special program. I think the worst record was 6-3. Missed the playoffs once in 10 years.

“I’ve had two brothers who played. Numerous cousins. I’ve got two boys playing on the team now (Cody and Curtis). A nephew. A couple of cousins. My mom was part of the boosters. It’s something I’ve grown up with.”

Martin hopes the initial showing of the DVD will be in conjunction with the Bulldogs’ final home game this fall — on Oct. 18 against Brunswick.

“I’m really hoping I’ve got to do two showings,” he said. “The junior high has the Williamson Center. It’s a beautiful place to do it. It’s air-conditioned. It’s big, plush seats. We can do it up right. We’ve got to make sure those days are available.”

Anyone who has anything they think can go in the DVD can contact Martin at tim@cornerstonefinancial-inc.com or 314-1640. Of course, there’s also a lot of living history in the area, in the form of people like Pete Cooper, Mike Mealey, and Dick McGee. That’s part of Lawrence football’s impact on the local community, and the kind of thing Martin hopes to capture in his film.

“People stay there,” Martin said. “It’s blue-collar. It’s always been blue-collar. Football’s a blue-collar sport. Kids start playing when they’re playing when they’re 5-6 years old. They don’t move. Just a lot of hometown pride.”

Matt DiFilippo — 861-9243

mdifilippo@mainetoday.com