1957 Harold "Pee Wee" Reese Game Worn Brooklyn Dodgers Jersey, MEARS A7....

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Number one in our hearts...

1957 Harold "Pee Wee" Reese Game Worn Brooklyn Dodgers Jersey, MEARS A7. He played in ten All-Star Games and seven World Series, earning Hall of Fame enshrinement and the retirement of his jersey number from the Dodgers wardrobe in 1984, but as he was laid to rest by his friends and admirers in 1999, it was Reese's extraordinary character that was most fondly remembered by those who knew him. Teammate Joe Black, one of the early pioneers of Major League integration, eulogized Reese with his personal remembrance of the superstar shortstop's kindness to Jackie Robinson during that dangerous rookie season of 1947:

"Pee Wee helped make my boyhood dream come true to play in the Majors, the World Series," Black explained to the crowd of mourners. "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."

This may be the very last jersey worn by Reese as a representative of the Brooklyn Dodgers before the team's heartbreaking abandonment of Ebbets following the 1957 season. On September 28th, Reese entered the game in the bottom of the ninth inning at Philadelphia's Connie Mack Stadium to defend a four-run lead over the Phillies, the 153rd game of the season. With the pennant already secure in the hands of Hank Aaron and his Milwaukee Braves, the veteran Reese was convinced to rest his thirty-nine year old legs during the final game the next day. Six months later, he'd become the second man to bat in a Major League game west of the Rockies.

While any Hall of Fame flannel carries enormous intrigue, this grey roadster serves as a particularly poignant reminder of that lost, golden age of the Brooklyn Bums. The scripted blue felt "Dodgers" spanning the chest is original, giving way to a restored number "1" on reverse, the sole deduction in MEARS otherwise glowing assessment. Lower left front tail holds proper "Spalding [size] 40" tagging above "Reese 57" embroidered in blue directly into the body of the garment. Flip the tail over to reveal a washing instructions label anchoring a "Set 1 1957" flap tag. MEARS characterizes game wear as "moderate," and the jersey remains impressively free of any of the staining or moth holes typical of contemporary uniforms. A truly special memento of the ultimate Boy of Summer. LOA from MEARS, A7. LOA from Heritage Auctions.