Martinsville Athletics

The Manufacturers played as a minor league affiliate of both the St. Louis Cardinals (1939) and Philadelphia Phillies (1940–1941).

Martinsville joined with the Danville-Schoolfield Leafs, Fieldale Virginians, Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets, Mayodan Senators and Mount Airy Graniteers teams in beginning league play on May 3, 1934.

[6][7] Martinsville finished 5.5 games behind the first place Danville-Schoolfield Leafs in the final regular season standings.

[11][12][13] Martinsville finished 28.0 games behind the first place Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets in the final standings and did not qualify for the playoffs, won by the Danville Leafs.

[14] Baseball Hall of Fame member Enos Slaughter played his first professional season with Martinsville in 1935.

[17] Playing for Martinsville at age 19, Slaughter hit .273, with 25 doubles, 11 triples and 18 home runs in 109 games.

[18][19] Slaughter made his major league debut with the St. Louis Cardinals at the beginning of the 1938 season.

[22] Martinsville finished just 0.5 game behind the first place Bassett Furnituremakers in the final overall regular season standings of the eight-team league.

Ending the regular season with a record of 63–50, the Manufacturers were managed by William Rea and Arnold Anderson.

[25] Martinsville finished 5.5 games behind the first place Bassett Furnituremakers in the final regular season standings of the eight-team league and qualified for the four-team playoffs.

With their fourth-place finish, Martinsville qualified for the playoffs after the Mount Airy Reds franchise had folded during the season with a 52–11 record.

[26][8] Continuing play in the 1938 Bi-State League, the Manufacturers ended the season with a record of 61–56 to finish in fifth place.

[30] Ending the season in fourth place, Martinsville was managed by Jim Poole, Al Krupski and Harry Daughtry.

The Mayodan Millers franchise folded before the end of the B-State League season[40] The Manufacturers lost in first round to the Sanford Spinners 4 games to 3.

[42][8] The Martinsville franchise returned to minor league play in 1945, following the completion of World War II.

[43] The Burlington Bees, Danville-Schoolfield Leafs (New York Giants affiliate), Durham Bulls (Boston Red Sox), Greensboro Patriots (Philadelphia Phillies), Leaksville-Draper-Spray Triplets (Chicago Cubs), Raleigh Capitals (Cincinnati Reds) and Winston-Salem Cardinals (St. Louis Cardinals) teams joined with Martinsville in the reformed Carolina League, which began play on April 26, 1945.

[44] Baseball Hall of Fame member Heinie Manush became the Martinsville Athletics manager in 1945.

[47] After managing the Athletics, Manush scouted for the Boston Braves until 1948, before becoming a bench coach for the Washington Senators during the 1953 and 1954 seasons.

[48][49] In their first season of play, the Athletics qualified for the Carolina League playoffs, led by their hall of fame manager.

The team finished in eighth place and were managed by Joe Glenn and Woody Wheaton during the season.

The Athletics ended the season 3.0 games behind the first place Raleigh Capitols before their playoff run to the championship.

[61] The Martinsville minor league teams played home games at English Park.