1939 Play Ball #12 Hershel Ray Martin

Hershel Ray Martin was not a Pinky or a Dutch or a Spud – he was just a Hersh.

Hersh played six seasons in the Majors – four with the Phillies (1937-1940) and two with the Yankees (1944-1945). Hersh was the Phils’ starting center fielder in 1937 and 1938, joining the NL All-Star team in 1938. During his time with the Phillies, he hit .286 with 12 home runs, 115 RBI and a .354 OBP. Hersh spent significant time in the minor leagues, accumulating 2,298 minor league hits between 1932 and 1957. His final minor league at-bat came as a member of the 1957 Des Moines Bruins, the Chicago Cubs’ Class A team for which he was managing at the time. (He was 47.) Hersh was a scout for the New York Mets from 1961 to 1979. He passed away in 1980 at the age of 71.

The Uniforms: It's hard to see the full Phillies uniforms on these Play Ball cards, as the standard pose seems to be along the lines of "pensive swing while looking earnest." The players' posed swing completely obscures the Phillies wordmark on the front of the jerseys. Given the patch on Hersh's left shoulder on his Play Ball card, it appears as if he's wearing a 1938 Phillies uniform which was - believe it or not - blue and gold. (Image from the Baseball Hall of Fame Uniform Database.)