[zeprock]

I doubt if kids these day play marbles like I did when I was a kid. My schoolmates and I would gather at recess and dig a small hole with the heel of our shoe and then shoot marbles toward it and then "boot" them in. Winner won all the marbles in the game. I kept mine in a little tin Bandaid can and you could hear me coming down the hall with those marbles rattling around inside that can. The big marbles were called "boulders" and the small ones were called "pee wees" and that brings me to today's featured player. Harold Peter Henry "Pee Wee" Reese's nickname originated from his childhood as he was a marbles champion. Considered too small to be a ballplayer, he was discovered playing in a church league and was eventually signed by the Boston Red Sox. Manager/Shortstop Joe Cronin was sent out to scout him and upon realizing he was scouting his own replacement, did not speak favorably of Reese and so he was traded to Brooklyn. He would become a ten-time All-star and two-time World Champion with the Dodgers and is recognized as being a strong supporter and good friend of Jackie Robinson when he broke the color barrier. I currently have 137 different Beckett recognized cards of Pee Wee. Here are nine from my collection.

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1957 Topps #30 Pee Wee Reese
1958 Topps #375 Pee Wee Reese
1983 Topps 1952 Reprint #333 Pee Wee Reese

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2002 SP Legendary Cuts Game Bat #BPWE Pee Wee Reese DP
2003 Flair Greats Home Team Cuts Game Used #12 P.Reese Pants SP/75
2003 SP Legendary Cuts #98 Pee Wee Reese/1299

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2006 SP Legendary Cuts Baseball Chronology Materials #PW Pee Wee Reese Bat
2010 Topps #549B Pee Wee Reese SP
2011 Topps #435B Pee Wee Reese SP