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 premium lightweight shirts are the hugely popular Bella+Canvas brand 3001 tees. They are much lighter and thinner feeling than a traditional heavyweight tee. They also are more form fitting and feel more snug. These are generally 90% to 100% cotton, although please note that heather colors in this item are 52% cotton.
Size Guide: Fit is true to size or a little snug. Considering ordering one size up if you are normally between sizes.
Brand: Bella Canvas | Product ID: 3001
- Made with 100% Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton, a lightweight fabric (4.2 oz/yd² (142 g/m²)) that is easy to layer, breathable. Perfect for active and leisure wear.
- The retail fit that is perfect for casual and semi-formal settings. The crew neckline adds a classic, neat style that's perfect for accessorizing.
- Bella+Canvas manufactures all its products in the US and internationally in humane, no-sweat-shop, sustainable way and is part of the Fair Labor Association as well as Platinum WRAP certified.
- The tear-away label minimizes skin irritations.
- Fabric blends: Ash and Heather Prism colors - 99% cotton, 1% polyester; Heather and Solid Blend colors - 52% cotton, 48% polyester; Athletic Heather and Black Heather - 90% cotton, 10% polyester.
