MORRIE MARTIN, (1922 – 2010)
Former A’s pitcher, Morrie Martin died of cancer on May 24, 2010 at his home in Washington, Missouri. He was 87.
A left- handed pitcher, Martin played with the A’s from 1951 to 1954. In his best year, 1951, he won 11 games while losing only 4 with a 3.78 ERA. He was third in the AL in games pitched with 58 that year.
He was born Morris Webster Martin in Dixon, MO on September 3, 1922. He started his professional career at age 18 when he was drafted by the Chicago White Sox. It was Wally Schang, former A’s catcher and, at that time, a White Sox scout, who saw Martin pitch two shutouts, striking out 43 batters in a single afternoon. The White Sox signed him and sent him to Grand Forks their Class C affiliate in the Northern league; a year later he was at St. Paul of the American Association (Class AAA).
Martin’s baseball career was interrupted by World War II. After his year at St. Paul, he entered the US Army as a member of the 49th Combat Engineers. Among the first to land at Omaha Beach, he had already served in North Africa and Sicily. After the landing at Normandy, he was involved in several battles including Ste.-Mere-Eglise, Bastogne, and the Battle of the Bulge. In that last battle, he was severely wounded in the thigh and gangrene set in. Were it not for a nurse who recommended the new wonder drug, penicillin (he took 150 shots), Martin would have lost his leg. After his discharge in 1945, he was decorated with an EAME (Europe, Africa, Middle East) ribbon with five bronze stars and a Purple Heart with oak leaf cluster (wounded twice in battle). He was a true war hero.
After his rehabilitation and return to baseball, he played two years in the Brooklyn Dodger farm system (the Dodgers had drafted him before the 1944 season). He played in the Cuban Winter league where he won the MVP award for 1948-49, pitching for pennant-winning Almanderas. This award put him in the company of Martin Dihigo, and Minnie Minoso. In 1949, was called up to the Dodgers; in that year, he appeared in 10 games for them. The first Major League batter he faced was Stan Musial; he struck him out.
In November, 1950, he was drafted by the A’s from the Dodgers in the rule 5 draft. He was immediately successful with the A’s, posting an 11-4 record. He beat each team in the AL at least once and beat the Yankees twice, once in New York and once in Philly. He always seemed to pitch well against the two AL powerhouses of the time, New York and Cleveland. In 1952, he pitched little because of a broken finger, but he recovered in 1953 to post another double-digit win season at 10-12 including seven saves; he was second in the AL in games pitched with 54 mostly in relief. In 1954, the A’s last season in Philadelphia, Martin was traded to the Chicago White Sox. After short stints with the Orioles, the Cardinals, the Indians, and the Cubs, Martin finished his professional career with the Houston Buffs of the American Association, a AAA affiliate of the Cubs.
He had a brief coaching career and returned to Missouri to work as a salesman in the meat packing industry and to coach youth baseball. He is survived by Loni, his wife of sixty-four years, four daughters, and fifteen grandchildren.
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