Pee Wee and Jackie

Today – May 13 – is the 73rd anniversary of, “the embrace”, that moment when Pee Wee Reese left his spot at shortstop prior to the beginning of the inning with the Dodgers in the field and walked over to Jackie Robinson who was standing alone at first base and taking all kinds of abuse from the fans in Cincinnati.

The story goes that he put his arm around Jackie, they smiled and spoke briefly, and the crowd was silenced.  Pee Wee, besides being an exceptional teammate, also understood the abuse as for quite some time he was heckled for having Jackie as his double play partner. From Louisville, Kentucky, Pee Wee was raised in an area where segregation was the order of the day and now he more than anyone else in MLB was teamed with a black man. As he was known, the Little Colonel’s true stature could not be measured at 5’10” and as an unconditional friend to Jackie Robinson he stood taller than any other man in MLB.

Back to the embrace. Doubt has been cast that the embrace ever took place, especially on May 13, 1947. That doubt stems from the fact that there are no pictures of the encounter and the sports columns of the day were written as if Jackie Robinson was invisible. There is no written record to corroborate the story. This is how the New York Times covered Jackie’s debut. In the day after his debut he was not mentioned in the first few paragraphs of Arthur Daley’s column, nor in its headline. Later on in the column, Daley noted,

“The muscular Negro minds his own business and shrewdly makes no effort to push himself. He speaks quietly and intelligently when spoken to and already has made a strong impression.”

Another theory is that the moment took place  about one year later perhaps in Philadelphia where Jackie was maligned maybe more than anywhere else. In 1948 he was at second base, much closer to Pee Wee. Still another suggestion was that it was against the Braves in Boston.

One account is provided by former Dodger pitcher Rex Barney who recalled the story nearly 40 years later in Peter Golenbock’s excellent oral history of the Brooklyn Dodgers, “Bums.”

Barney recalled that he saw the event occur while he was warming up to pitch in the first. However, in  1947, Barney was working out of the bullpen and did not come into the game in Cincinnati until the seventh inning. He did become a starting pitcher soon after in 1947 and was a full-time starter in 1948. Hence the suggestion the embrace took place in 1948.

The significance of the story is that it simply told part of the story of Pee Wee Reese befriending Jackie Robinson. The picture below is an embrace that is documented. In looking for team photos that include Pee Wee and Jackie there are numerous with Pee Wee almost always next to Jackie.

So here’s to you Pee Wee Reese.

“I thought it was a very supportive gesture (refusing to sign a petition that threatened a boycott if Jackie Robinson joined the team), and very instinctive on Pee Wee’s part. You shouldn’t forget that Pee Wee was the captain, and he led the way. When Jack first entered (the Major Leagues), there were still a lot of people who didn’t know if it was the right thing to do. Pee Wee used all of his leadership skills and sensitivity to bring the team together… Pee Wee was more than a friend. Pee Wee was a good man.” – Rachel Robinson (Jackie Robinson’s Wife) in Jet (September 13, 1999)

“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 number one on his uniform and number one in our hearts.” – Teammate / Pitcher Joe Black (Reese Funeral Eulogy, Louisville, Kentucky)

“Pee Wee whether you are willing to admit what your being just a great guy meant (a great deal) to my career, I want you to know how much I feel it meant. May I take this opportunity to say a great big thanks and I sincerely hope all things you want in life be yours. Best to the family. Sincerely, Jackie Robinson.” – Jackie Robinson Inscription to Pee Wee Reese in Wait Till Next Year (Sothebys Auction, Reese Estate)

“Think of the guts that refusing to sign a petition that threatened a boycott if Jackie Robinson joined the team took. Pee Wee had to go home to segregated Louisville, Kentucky and answer to his friends. I told Jackie later that (Reese’s gesture) helped my race more than his.” – Teammate / Pitcher Carl Erksine in Jet (September 13, 1999)

Back to the embrace again. It had enough credibility that a figurative bronze sculpture depicting the two teammates was dedicated on November 1, 2005 at the entrance of MCU Park, home of the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Unfortunately, on August 7, 2013 that statue, in front of Cyclones stadium was desecrated with swastikas and racist phrases. The perpetrators sprayed painted “die n****” and “Hitler” on the base of the statute.

Mark Reese, Pee Wee’s son, writes that his father detested prejudice of any kind  and felt all members of the human race should be judged only by their deeds. Mark speculates on what his father would say if he and Jackie were to discuss the defacing of the the special moment etched in bronze. Among other things he thinks Pee Wee would conclude, “We ain’t there yet, Jack.”