Pee Wee Reese, Louisville Colonels, 1939
Image Source: Unknown, but believed to be in the public domain.
Image Subject: A young Pee Wee Reese, playing for the minor league Louisville Colonels.
Fun Fact: Henry Harold Reese didn’t earn his nickname due to his size, although it did not help that in high school he was 5”9” tall and weighed 120 pounds. No, Pee Wee earned his nickname because as a youngster he was runner-up in a Louisville Courier-Journal pee-wee marbles competition. He did eventually grow an extra inch and put on an additional 20 pounds by the time he became a Brooklyn Dodger.
By 1938, Reese was the Louisville Colonels' regular shortstop and one of the top prospects in the minors. In particular, he caught the eye of the Boston Red Sox organization who believed their regular shortstop, Joe Cronin, was nearing the end of his playing days. Cronin, who was also the Red Sox manager, deliberately downplayed Reese's talent.
Reese stayed in Louisville for the rest of the 1939 season, and was called up to Brooklyn in time for the 1940 season. In an ironic twist, he walked into a situation where his manager was also the regular shortstop—in this case, Leo Durocher. Unlike Cronin, however, Durocher was willing to give up his spot in the lineup to Reese.
Painting Detail: Printed on 8½” x 11” canvas and painted using Schmincke Mussini and Marshall’s oil paints. Finer details were made using Prismacolor pencils.
Acknowledgement: Pee Wee Reese, Society for American Research, Rob Edelman.