Pepper Martin: A Baseball Biography (review)

John Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin is a baseball great from the 1930s whose accomplishments are often forgotten in the modern baseball era, with its emphasis on the home run. The "Wild Horse of the Osage" was a scrappy outfielder and third baseman for the St. Louis Cardinals whose game featured aggressive base running and speed. Martin's accomplishments are resurrected in this biography by sabr member Thomas Barthel.

Martin was born in 1904, the last of seven children in a poor, rural Oklahoma family. After moving to Oklahoma City young Martin struggled in school and worked to support the family. Displaying outstanding speed Martin developed a passion for baseball. In 1924 he was playing for Guthrie in the Oklahoma State League, but he completed the season with Greenville in the East Texas League. Although his fielding was inconsistent, Martin showed enough promise at the plate and on the base paths to catch the attention of Branch Rickey and the St. Louis Cardinals.

Martin was signed by the Cardinals and in 1925 played for Fort Smith, Arkansas, where team owner Blake Harper allegedly invented the nickname "Pepper" to describe his enthusiastic new player. In the spring of 1926 Martin was advanced to Syracuse and then demoted to Houston for the 1927 campaign. In Houston Martin's fielding improved when he was moved from the infield to the outfield. He finally reached the majors in 1928, but he could not crack the Cardinals' starting outfield alignment, seeing only limited action with 13 at-bats. Martin was back in Houston in 1929, and the following year he was with Rochester, where his .363 batting average was noted by the Cardinals.

Martin was a rather old rookie at age twenty-seven when he became the starting center fielder for the Cardinals in 1931. He contributed a .300 batting average and 16 stolen bases for the St Louis franchise, which captured the 1931 National League pennant. The Cardinals were a heavy underdog against Connie Mack's Philadelphia Athletics, who were seeking a third straight world championship. With his timely hitting and aggressive base running, however, Martin emerged as the star of the 1931 series. The Cardinals defeated the Athletics in a thrilling 7-game set, in which Martin hit .500 with 12 hits and 5 stolen bases. The World Series hero was selected as Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press, and the poor boy from Oklahoma cashed in on his fame with a postseason vaudeville act.

Martin, however, was unable to maintain his World Series level of play. He was injured for much of the 1932 campaign, and the Cardinals slumped to seventh place. Martin rebounded in 1933. Playing now at third base, Martin, never a graceful fielder, used his barrel chest to stop difficult ground balls. He hit a career high .316, but the Cardinals were mired in fifth place.

With his friend Dizzy Dean winning 30 games in 1934, Martin and the Cardinals were again world champions. The rough-and-tumble Cardinals, led by eccentric country personalities Dean and Martin, became known as the Gas House Gang in the mid-1930s. While a competitive club the Cardinals did not return to the World Series. Martin established a reputation as a practical joker and loved playing the harmonica for his Mississippi Mudcats band. Yet he always played hard through numerous injuries, earning the respect of his peers. He was named team captain for the Cardinals in 1939.

The following year Martin was released by the Cardinals, but Rickey helped his former star attain a job as manager for the Sacramento Solons of the Pacific Coast League. During the war years Martin also managed at Rochester and San Diego, although due to the manpower shortage he did play part of the 1944 season with the Cardinals. In the postwar period Martin continued to manage in the Minor Leagues. Although he managed into the early 1960s, he was never offered a Major League managing position. The Cardinal great spent much of his later years active...