Our Arklahoma Heritage: From the cotton fields of Oklahoma to stardom as a St. Louis Cardinal - Johnny "Pepper" Martin
Pepper Martin, nicknamed the "Wild Horse of the Osage," was a key player for the St. Louis Cardinals. He won two World Series titles and made four All-Star teams.
Pepper Martin was born Johnny Leonard Roosevelt Martin on February 29, 1904, in Temple, , a small town in Cotton County, about 120 miles southwest of Oklahoma City. Founded in 1902, it was named after a local store owner, Temple Houston Stewart, and grew as a farming community.
By the time Pepper was born, it had a few hundred people, mostly cotton farmers like his family. He was the youngest of seven kids. His parents, Celia Spears Martin and George Washington Martin, worked hard on their cotton farm.
Life was tough, and a drought in 1910 ruined their crops, forcing the family to move to Oklahoma City when Pepper was six.
In Oklahoma City, Pepper grew up in a poor family. They ate simple food like beans and cornmeal. He worked hard, helping with animals and delivering newspapers to buy a baseball glove.
He loved playing baseball and joined a local team, Guthrie, at 19. That league shut down in 1924, but he kept playing and improving.
Martin’s pro career started in 1925 with the Greenville Hunters in Texas, where he hit .340. The St. Louis Cardinals signed him, and he reached the majors in 1928. He played third base and outfield and was known for stealing bases and running hard.
In the 1931 World Series, he hit .500 with 12 hits, helping the Cardinals beat the Philadelphia Athletics.
That same year he married Pepper married Ruby Adella Hulsey on October 25, in St. Louis, right after his breakout World Series performance. Ruby, born in 1910 in Oklahoma, was a supportive partner through his baseball career and beyond.
They had three daughters: Jennie Lee, Jonnye Lynne, and Judy Ann.
One story from that series: Martin slid so hard into bases that he tore up his uniform and left his legs bloody, but he kept playing like it was nothing.
He also won a title in 1934 with the Gashouse Gang team. During a game that year, he dove headfirst into a base, got up covered in dirt, and grinned at the crowd, earning cheers for his wild style.
In 1933, he stole a base against the Cubs, then taunted the pitcher by pretending to fall asleep on the bag, driving the other team crazy.
Martin led the National League in stolen bases three times and finished with a .298 batting average and 1,227 hits over 13 years. In 1944, at age 40, he came back during World War II and hit .279, though he didn’t play in that year’s World Series.
After retiring as a player in 1944, Martin turned to managing in the minor leagues. He started with the Sacramento Solons in the Pacific Coast League in 1942, while still an active player elsewhere.
That year, he led Sacramento to the league championship, winning the title with a team that went 105-73. He managed aggressively, just like he played, pushing his team to hustle and take risks.
Later, he managed other teams, like the Rochester Red Wings in 1947 and the Miami Marlins of the International League in 1959, where he went 82-71. He also had short stints with the San Diego Padres of the PCL and coached briefly for the Chicago Cubs in the majors in 1960, though he never got a full-time big-league managing job.
His style was tough but effective, and he stayed involved in baseball for years.
After managing, Martin worked as a deputy sheriff, raised cattle, and ran sports at an Oklahoma prison. Throughout his playing days and beyond, Pepper and his family maintained home ties to Pittsburg County, living in McAlester.
He died of a heart attack on March 5, 1965, at 61, in his home in McAlester, Oklahoma. He was buried in Quail Creek Cemetery in McAlester, a small local graveyard near where he spent his final years.
His wife, Ruby, lived until 2009. Martin was later honored in the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 1992 and the Cardinals Hall of Fame in 2017.
