Expert: Steve L - 1/3/2005

Question
Do you know how Peewee Reese (or Reece) acquired his dreadful sobriquet?

I believe his real first name was Harold, but he seems never to have used it during his playing days.

Surely he didn't relish being called 'peewee'?

Hope you can enlighten me.

Thanks,      CDA

Answer
Harold Henry Reese, beloved captain of the Brooklyn Dodgers, got his nickname as a young champion marble shooter. A "pee wee" is a type of marble.

A Kentucky native, Reese also earned the monicker The Little Colonel as the star shortstop on the Louisville Colonels.

Dodger fans called him Pee Wee with great affection, and there's no evidence that Reese himself objected to the nickname.

He was adored in Brooklyn, and remains today, along with Jackie Robinson, the team's all-time favorite player.