Alfred Manuel Martin Jr. was born May 16th, 1928, in Berkley, California to Al Martin Sr., and Jenny Sulvani. Al Jr. would get the nickname “Billy” from his grandmother, who never mastered the English language, and would often call him “bello”; both Spanish and Italian for “beautiful or handsome”. Billy’s parents would split early in his life, with his mother shouldering the parenting as Al Sr., would move away to Hawaii. Billy was an apathetic student, but was often in trouble with teachers and principals; he was intensely competitive and very quick to conflict, gaining him a reputation as a brawler who would do anything to win.
