Pee Wee Reese
| Pee Wee Reese | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Shortstop | ||
| Born: July 23 1918 | ||
| Died: August 14 1999 (aged 81) | ||
| Batted: Right | Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | ||
| April 23, 1940 for the Brooklyn Dodgers |
||
| Final game | ||
| September 26, 1958 for the Los Angeles Dodgers |
||
| Career statistics | ||
| AVG | .269 | |
| Hits | 2170 | |
| HR | 126 | |
| Teams | ||
| Career highlights and awards | ||
|
||
| Member of the National | ||
 Baseball Hall of Fame  |
||
| Elected | 1984 | |
| Vote | Veterans Committee | |
Harold Henry "Pee Wee" Reese (July 23 1918 - August 14 1999) was an American professional baseball player who played for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers from 1940 to 1958.[1] Reese was a ten-time All Star shortstop who contributed to seven league championships for Brooklyn.
Reese's nickname came from his childhood, but it wasn't about his height: he was a champion marbles player (a little "pee wee" is a small marble). Reese was born and raised near then-racially-segregated Louisville, Kentucky.
Reese was a strong supporter of the first 20th Century black Major League Baseball player, Jackie Robinson. He was serving a stint in the Navy when the news of Robinson's signing came. Although he had little or no experience interacting with minorities, he had no particular prejudices, either. It is reported that his father had made him starkly aware of racial injustice by showing him a tree where a lynching had occurred.[2] The modest Reese, who typically downplayed his pioneering role in helping to ease the breaking of the 80-year-old color line, said that his primary concern was of losing his shortstop job. Robinson was assigned to the right side of the infield, and Reese retained his position.
Reese refused to sign a petition that threatened a boycott if Robinson joined the team. When Robinson joined the Dodgers in 1947 and traveled with them during their first road trip, he was heckled by fans in Cincinnati, Ohio. During pre-game infield practice, Reese, the captain of the team, went over to Robinson, engaged him in conversation, and put his arm around his shoulder in a gesture of support which silenced the crowd. This gesture is depicted in a bronze sculpture of Reese and Robinson, created by sculptor William Behrends, that was placed at KeySpan Park in Brooklyn, New York, and unveiled on November 1, 2005.
Throughout that difficult first year in the major leagues, Reese helped keep Robinson's morale up amid all the abuse. Their rapport soon led shortstop Reese and second baseman Robinson to become one of the most effective defensive pairs in the sport's history.
At Reese's funeral, Joe Black, another Major League Baseball black pioneer, said:
- "Pee Wee helped make my boyhood dream come true to play in the Majors, the World Series. When Pee Wee reached out to Jackie, all of us in the Negro League smiled and said it was the first time that a White guy had accepted us. When I finally got up to Brooklyn, I went to Pee Wee and said, 'Black people love you. When you touched Jackie, you touched all of us.' With Pee Wee, it was No. 1 on his uniform and No. 1 in our hearts."[3]
Following his retirement as a player, Reese enjoyed considerable success as a play-by-play announcer on network television. He called games for CBS from 1960-1965 (with
In 1984, Pee Wee Reese was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
In front of the main entrance into Louisville Slugger Field, stands a statue of Pee Wee Reese.
The friendship between Reese and Robinson is the subject of a popular 1990 children's book called Teammates, written by Peter Golenbock and with illustrations by Paul Bacon.[4]
Personal life
Reese was married to the former Dorothy "Dottie" Walton on March 29, 1942. They had two children.
Trivia
Pee Wee Reese and Elston Howard have the dubious distinction of playing on the most losing World Series teams (six each). Ironically, Reese's only World Series win, with the Dodgers in the 1955 World Series, occurred against Howard's New York Yankees team during Howard's first ever World Series.
See also
- List of major league players with 2,000 hits
- List of Major League Baseball players with 1000 runs
- List of Major League Baseball runs scored champions
- List of Major League Baseball stolen base champions
- Los Angeles Dodgers all-time roster
References
- ^ McHale, Matt. "Pee Wee Reese Dies; Ex-Dodgers Captain Led Brooklyn Team to '55 Championship" - the Los Angeles Daily News - (c/o TheFreeLibrary.com) - Aug 15, 1999
- ^ "Harold "Pee Wee" Reese - Youth In Kentucky"
- ^ "Rachel Robinson Recalls How The Late Pee Wee Reese Helped Jackie Robinson Integrate Basebal" - Jet Magazine (c/o FindArticles) - Sept 13, 1999
- ^ Golenbock, Peter (Author)., Paul Bacon (Illustrator). Teammates. San Diego: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 1990. ISBN 0152006036
External links
- Reese's Hall of Fame biography
- Pee Wee's page @ Baseball Library.com
- Reese's page @ Baseball Reference.com
- Pee Wee's page @ Baseball Almanac.com
| Preceded by Alvin Dark |
Lou Gehrig Memorial
Award 1956 |
Succeeded by Stan Musial |
| Brooklyn Dodgers 1955 World Series roster |
|---|
| 15 Sandy Amoros | 46
Don Bessent | 39 Roy Campanella | 40
Roger Craig | 17 Carl Erskine | 6
Carl Furillo | 19 Jim Gilliam | 43 Don Hoak | 14 Gil Hodges | 12 Frank
Kellert | 41 Clem Labine | 30 Billy Loes | 34
Russ Meyer | 36 Don Newcombe | 45
Johnny Podres (World Series MVP)| 1
Pee Wee Reese | 42 Jackie Robinson |
37Ed Roebuck | 8 George Shuba | 4 Duke Snider | 48 Karl Spooner | 23 Don
Zimmer Manager Walter Alston |
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
