The Martinsville Manufacturers took their name from the city's textile mills, which produced towels for much of the early twentieth century. The team joined the Class D Bi-State League at its founding in 1934, a circuit built around mill towns along the North Carolina-Virginia border. In that inaugural season, player-manager Jimmy Sanders hit .423, the highest batting average in all of minor league baseball that year, though Martinsville lost the championship series to the Danville-Schoolfield Leafs.
Hall of Famer Enos Slaughter played his first professional season with Martinsville in 1935, going on to a nineteen-year career with the Cardinals and Yankees that included ten All-Star selections and a World Series championship. The Manufacturers became a St. Louis Cardinals affiliate later in the decade before switching to the Philadelphia Phillies in 1940, the same year they won their only Bi-State League championship.
The Manufacturers played their final season in 1941, finishing second despite batting champion Albert Behrends hitting .378 and teammate Tom Burnette leading the league with 28 home runs and 114 RBI. The Bi-State League folded the following year and was succeeded after World War II by the Carolina League, where a new Martinsville franchise, the Athletics, won the 1948 Carolina League title with Hall of Famer Heinie Manush managing in 1945.
The Manufacturers and the Athletics both played at the same Martinsville ballpark, English Field, which still hosts baseball today as Hooker Field. This design's mascot draws on the towel-and-textile identity of Martinsville's mills, representing the Manufacturers through the product that built the town rather than through a generic occupational figure.
Retro Baseball Revival celebrates historic baseball teams with unique apparel, honoring their legacy and bringing history to one-of-a-kind clothing with our old school retro baseball tees from defunct Minor League Baseball teams. All of our high quality apparel is designed, printed, and shipped within the USA. This collection features 100% original designs based on the history and nicknames of historic minor league teams.
Our standard (non-premium) hoodies are classics that anyone is sure to recognize. They are thick, durable Gildan brand hoodies. They are a cotton/poly blend that stands the test of time and feature the 'kangaroo pouch' on the front with a draw string hood.
Size Guide: True to size, roomy
- Brand: Gildan | Product ID: G18500
- Made with a medium-heavy fabric (8.0 oz/yd² (271 g/m²)) that consists of 50% cotton and 50% polyester for that cozy feel and warmth you need in a hoodie.
- The classic fit along with the pouch pocket and the tear-away label make for a highly comfortable, scratch-free wearing experience.
- The color-matched drawcord and the double-lined hood add a stylish flair and durability that tie everything together.
- Made using 100% ethically grown US cotton. Gildan is also a proud member of the US Cotton Trust Protocol ensuring ethical and sustainable means of production. The blank tee's dyes are OEKO-TEX-certified dyes with low environmental impact.
- Tumble dry: medium; Iron, steam or dry: low heat; Do not dryclean; Machine wash: cold (max 30C or 90F); Non-chlorine: bleach as needed.
