‘Pepper’ was an original guitar hero
Recently, we told the story of the late “Pepper” Martin, the hero of the St. Louis Cardinals when they defeated the Philadelphia Athletics in seven games to win the 1931 World Series. That was when Martin became known as “The Wild Horse of the Osage” because of his hitting and running.
There were two other heroes in that series for the Cardinals: Lefthander “Wild Bill” Hallahan and my dear friend, Hall of Fame righthander Burleigh Grimes. Each won two games! Nevertheless, Pepper did indeed steal the show.
We mentioned that Martin was a clean-living fellow who did not drink, smoke, or use profanity. But, like many ballplayers, Martin was superstitious. For some reason, he thought hairpins were lucky. Anytime he spotted one on the ground, he’d pick it up.