SOMETHING YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW?!
Trivia: Do you know who Harold “Pee Wee” Reese was?!
ANSWER: Pee Wee Reese was a Major League Baseball player and a Navy Chief!
Harold “Pee Wee” Reese was signed by the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1938 and played with the Louisville Colonels in the American Association.
When the Pirates’ minor league agreement with the Colonels came to an end afer the 1938 season, Reese was obtained by the Boston Red Sox, who sold him to the Brooklyn Dodgers for $35,000 and four players.
Reese made his debut with Brooklyn on 23 April 1940. He played 84 games his rookie season and batted .272, sharing the shortstop position with player-manager Leo Durocher.
By 1942, the 24 year-old was a National League all-star but that was to be his last season in the major leagues for the duration of the war.
Reese enlisted in the US Navy.
Reese was stationed at Norfolk Naval Air Station in 1943, where he regularly played baseball. In 1944, he was sent to Hawaii and played for the Aiea Hospital team.
He joined the Third Fleet team for the US Navy’s Pacific tour and was then assigned to Guam where he was shortstop and assistant coach for the 3rd Marine Division baseball team.
In early 1945 he was discharged from the Navy with the rank of Chief Petty Officer.
Back with the Dodgers in mid 1946, Reese was named to the National League all-star team for nine consecutive seasons.
Reese was instrumental in showing support for Jackie Robinson when he broke the color barrier in 1947. As Robinson was being heckled by fans in Cincinnati during the Dodgers’ first road trip, Reese went over to Robinson and put his arm around his shoulder in a gesture of inclusion and support.
After his playing career ended in 1958, Reese worked as a broadcaster with CBS, NBC and the Cincinnati Reds.
Pee Wee Reese was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. He passed away in Louisville, Kentucky on 14 August 1999, at the age of 81.
Leave a Reply