| Pepper Martin | |
|---|---|
 Martin, circa 1942 | |
| Outfielder /Third baseman | |
| Born:(1904-02-29)February 29, 1904 Temple, Oklahoma, U.S. | |
| Died: March 5, 1965(1965-03-05) (aged 61) McAlester, Oklahoma, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 16, 1928, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| October 4, 1944, for the St. Louis Cardinals | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Batting average | .298 |
| Home runs | 59 |
| Runs batted in | 501 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Johnny Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin (February 29, 1904 – March 5, 1965) was an American professionalbaseball player and minor leaguemanager. He was known as the "Wild Horse of the Osage" because of his daring, aggressivebaserunning. Martin played inMajor League Baseball as athird baseman and anoutfielder for theSt. Louis Cardinals during the 1930s and early 1940s. He was best known for his heroics during the1931 World Series, in which he was the catalyst in a Cardinals' upset victory over thePhiladelphia Athletics.[1]
Martin was an integral member of the Cardinals' teams of the 1930s that became known as theGashouse Gang for their roguish behavior and practical jokes. Early in his career, he was labeled by some contemporary press reports as the nextTy Cobb because of his spirited, hustling style of play.[2][3] However, because his headlong attitude on the playing field took a physical toll on his body, he never lived up to those initial expectations.[4] After the end of his playing career, he continued his career in baseball as a successful minor league baseball manager. In 2017, Martin was inducted into theSt. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame.
Born in Temple, Oklahoma, Martin moved toOklahoma City with his parents at the age of six where he grew up playing baseball.[5] At 19, he began his professional career when he signed to play as ashortstop in theOklahoma State League for a team in Guthrie, Oklahoma.[5] When the league folded in 1924, his contract was sold to theGreenville Hunters of theEast Texas League.[6] In 1925, he posted a .340 batting average in 98 games for the Hunters[7] and his contract was acquired by theSt. Louis Cardinals to play for theirWestern Association affiliate, theFort Smith Twins.[7] He continued to post batting averages above the .300 mark. In 1927, Martin hit for a .306 average in 147 games with theHouston Buffaloes, earning him a promotion to the major leagues.[7]
After spending five years in theminor leagues, Martin made his major league debut with the Cardinals on April 16,1928 at the age of 24.[8] He posted a .308 batting average in 39 games as autility player, helping the Cardinals win the National League pennant.[8] Martin made one appearance as apinch runner in the1928 World Series, which the Cardinals lost in four consecutive games to theNew York Yankees.[9] Despite his respectable batting average, Martin was sent back to Houston in January 1929, where he hit for a .298 batting average.[7][10] The following season, he was promoted to theRochester Red Wings where his offensive statistics improved with 20home runs, a .363 batting average, and a .631slugging percentage, helping the Red Wings win the 1930International League title.[7] The Red Wings then defeated theLouisville Colonels of theAmerican Association to win theJunior World Series.[11]
Martin's performance earned him a return to the major leagues with the Cardinals in1931.[8] When veterancenter fielderTaylor Douthit went into a hitting slump, Martin replaced him and played well enough that Cardinals president,Branch Rickey traded Douthit to theCincinnati Reds in June.[12] Martin impressed observers with his hustle in the outfield as well as on the base paths, where he often slid into bases head-first.[13] He ended the year with a .300 batting average along with seven home runs and 75runs batted in to help the Cardinals clinch the 1931 National Leaguepennant by 13 games over theNew York Giants.[8][14]
The1931 World Series was a rematch of the previous year's participants, pitting the Cardinals against thePhiladelphia Athletics. Led byConnie Mack, the Athletics had won the previous two World Series and were heavily favored to win for a third consecutive year.[15] They featured five futureHall of Famers inMickey Cochrane,Jimmie Foxx,Lefty Grove,Waite Hoyt, andAl Simmons.
In Game 1 held atSportsman's Park in St. Louis, Martin had three hits, including adouble, astolen base and drove in one run in a 6–2 loss to the ace of the Athletics staff, 31-game winning pitcher Lefty Grove.[16] Martin proved to be the difference in Game 2 in what was otherwise a tight pitching duel betweenBill Hallahan of the Cardinals andGeorge Earnshaw for the Athletics. Martin scored the firstrun of the game in the secondinning by stretching asingle into a double when the ball was mishandled in the outfield, stealing third base, and then scoring on asacrifice fly.[15] Martin added another run in the seventh inning when he hit a single, stole second base, took third base on afielder's choice, and then scored on asqueeze bunt.[17] Those would be the only runs of the game as Hallahan pitched a three-hitshutout to even the series, 1–1.[9]
The series moved toShibe Park in Philadelphia for Game 3, where Martin had two hits, including a double, and scored twice in a 5–2 Cardinals' victory over Grove.[18] In Game 4, he produced the only two hits by the Cardinals as they lost to Earnshaw, 3–0.[19] Martin almost single-handedly provided the offense for the Cardinals in Game 5, driving in four runs with two singles, a home run and a sacrifice fly, as the Cardinals triumphed 5–1.[20][21] Although he was held hitless in the final two games of the series, he made an impressive catch to extinguish an Athletics two-run rally in the ninth inning of Game 7 to end the game and clinch the world championship for the Cardinals.[15]
Martin had a then-record 12 hits in the series, including four doubles, a home run, five stolen bases, and five runs batted in.[15][9] Martin's .500 series batting average may have made the difference in the series outcome, as without him the Cardinals batted just .205 as a team.[15] During the series, Martin was asked how he had learned to run so fast; he replied, "I grew up in Oklahoma, and once you start runnin' out there there ain't nothin' to stop you."[22] Hall of Fame managerJohn McGraw described Martin's performance as "the greatest individual performance in the history of the World Series".[23] In December, he was selected asmale athlete of the year by theAssociated Press.[24]
Martin experienced an injury-plagued season in1932, missing several weeks when he dislocated his shoulder in April and missed a month and a half when he broke a finger in July while sliding intohome plate.[25][26] In August, Cardinals managerGabby Street moved Martin to third base to fill the gap left by the injuredSparky Adams.[27] Martin was not a naturally gifted third baseman, often fielding balls after having stopped them with his chest.[6][28] He ended the season with a .238 batting average with four home runs and 34 runs batted in as the Cardinals fell to seventh place in the National League.[8]
Having rebounded from his injuries, in1933 Martin was leading the league in hitting with a .363 batting average in the middle of June, earning him a starting role as the third baseman for theNational League team in the inauguralMajor League Baseball All-Star Game held on July 6,1933.[29][30] Now hitting as the Cardinals'leadoff hitter, he finished the season ranked sixth in the league with a career-high .316 average and led the league with 122 runs scored and 26 stolen bases.[31] Martin ranked tenth in the league with a .456slugging percentage, and he had a career-high .387on-base percentage along with 36 doubles, 12triples and eight home runs as the Cardinals improved to a fifth-place finish.[31] He came in fifth place in the voting results for the 1933 National LeagueMost Valuable Player Award.[32]
Martin's batting average dropped to .289 in1934, and he once again led the league in stolen bases as the Cardinals rallied from seven games behind theNew York Giants in early September to win the National League pennant on the last day of the season.[8][33] He made an appearance as arelief pitcher on August 19, allowing one hit in two innings pitched.[34] In a memorable1934 World Series against theDetroit Tigers, the Cardinals were down 3 games to 2, before rebounding to win the final two games.[6] The series was highlighted by several rough plays on the base paths that culminated in Game 7, whenJoe Medwick made a rough slide into Tigers' third basemanMarv Owen.[35] The following inning, outraged Detroit fans pelted Medwick with debris when he assumed his defensive position in the outfield.[35] The disturbance wasn't quelled until the umpires appealed tobaseball commissionerKenesaw Mountain Landis, who had Medwick removed from the game.[35] Martin ended the series with 11 hits for a .355 average, stole two bases and scored eight runs in the series.[9] He experienced difficulties in the field, committing 3errors in Game 4 and setting a World Series record with four errors overall.[36][37] While in a St. Louis hospital in December 1934, for a minor operation on his left arm, Martin insisted that he be entertained by acowboy musical group that he had hired. He created such a disturbance among the other patients that the hospital staff moved him to an isolated wing.[38] Martin, along with Cardinals teammates such asLeo Durocher,Dizzy Dean and Joe Medwick among others, became known as the 1934Gashouse Gang due to their boisterous activities on and off the field.[33][39] He played the guitar in ahillbilly band composed of Cardinals players named The Mudcat Band.[40]
Although Martin had a good year offensively in1935, he continued to struggle defensively at third base. In the midst of a tightpennant race in July, he committed three costly errors in a loss to the Giants and ended the year with 30 errors.[41] He was hitting for .333 by mid-season to earn the starting third baseman's position in the1935 All-Star Game.[42] For the season, he hit for a .299 average with nine home runs and 54 runs batted in.[8] In October, Martin underwent surgery again, this time on his right arm.[43] In January 1936, Branch Rickey asked Martin to curtail his extra-curricular activities. Already well known as a hunting and fishing enthusiast, Martin had taken up the hobby ofmidget car racing and was also playing in football and basketball games during the winter months.[44] He also became the vice-president and general manager of an Oklahoma City ice hockey team.[44]
Martin moved back to the outfield, playing as the Cardinals'right fielder in1936 as the Cardinals battled the New York Giants for the National League title before settling for second place. He responded with a good year offensively, hitting for a .309 average with career-highs in home runs (11) and in runs batted in (76).[8] Martin also again led the league in stolen bases with 23.[45] He continued to hit well by1937, although he was relegated to a part-time role, as his spirited, headlong style of play took its toll on his body.[15][4] At the beginning of the1939 season, he was named as the Cardinals' team captain, taking the job from Leo Durocher, who had been traded to theBrooklyn Dodgers.[46] He experienced a resurgence, leading the team with a .340 batting average in June before a sprained wrist put him out of action for two weeks.[47] He ended the season with a .306 batting average in 88 games, helping the Cardinals to finish second in the National League.[8] Martin hit for a respectable .316 average in1940 before the Cardinals named him as theplayer-manager of theSacramento Solons of thePacific Coast League in October.[8][23]
Martin led Sacramento to a second-place finish in 1941 before leading them to their first Pacific Coast League championship in 38 years in 1942.[48] He then became a player-manager for the Rochester Red Wings in 1943.[48] When professional baseball experienced a shortage of players during World War II, Martin returned to the major leagues in1944 with the Cardinals at the age of 40. In 40 games with the Cardinals, he posted a .279 batting average and an impressive .386 on-base percentage to help the Cardinals clinch the 1944 National League pennant.[8] Martin did not appear in the1944 World Series, playing his final major league game on October 1, 1944.[8]
In a 13-year major league career, Martin played in 1,189games, accumulating 1,227hits in 4,117at bats for a .298 career batting average along with 756runs, 270doubles, 75triples, .443 slugging percentage, 59 home runs, 501 runs batted in, 146 stolen bases, 369bases on balls and anon-base percentage of .358.[8] He retired with a .973 careerfielding percentage in 613 games as an outfielder and a .927 fielding percentage in 429 games as a third baseman.[8] A four-time All-Star, Martin's World Series career batting average of .418 (23-for-55) is still a series record, and he is tied for 10th with seven World Series stolen bases.[49] He led the National League three times in stolen bases and once in runs scored.[8] On May 5, 1933, Martinhit for the cycle in a game against thePhiladelphia Phillies at theBaker Bowl.[50]
After the end of his major league career, Martin returned to the minor leagues, serving as a player-manager with theSan Diego Padres of the Pacific Coast League in 1945 and 1946 before becoming the player-manager for theGreenville Spinners of theSouth Atlantic League in 1947.[51] His fiery, competitive nature was still evident in July 1945 when it was reported that he had punched one of his players for not performing to his standards.[52] While managing theMiami Sun Sox of theFlorida International League in 1949, he was fined and suspended for the remainder of the season for choking anumpire.[53] In August 1951, he made news again when he was arrested after a Sun Sox game when he went into the stands to punch a spectator inLakeland, Florida.[54]
When the Sun Sox released him, Martin was hired to manage the Miami Beach Flamingos of the Florida International League in 1952.[55] Despite leading them to a 103-49 record, the Flamingos finished the season one game behind his former team, the Sun Sox.[56] In 1953, he became the manager of the Fort Lauderdale Lions and led them to the Florida International League title.[57] After spending the 1954 season as the manager for thePortsmouth Merrimacs, Martin was named as acoach for theChicago Cubs in September 1955.[58]Stan Hack was fired as the Cubs manager when they finished in last place in the1956 season, and the new Cubs manager,Bob Scheffing, asked for Martin's resignation along with the rest of the coaching staff.[59] Martin returned to the minor leagues once again where he became a player-coach for theTulsa Oilers, playing his final game at the age of 54.[60] He took his final field assignment as the manager of theMiami Marlins in 1959.[61]
Before his death, Martin served briefly as the athletic director of theOklahoma State Penitentiary atMcAlester, Oklahoma.[62] He died on March 5, 1965, after suffering a heart attack.[63] His wife, Ruby, survived him by over four decades, dying just after her 99th birthday in 2009.
Martin was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1992[5] and was enshrined into theSt. Louis Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2017.[64]
· Baseball Almanac, orRetrosheet| Achievements | ||
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| Preceded by | Hitting for the cycle May 5, 1933 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
| Other | |
